


Be Careful What You Wish For

by Alis_Wonderland



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: BAMF Stiles, F/M, Gen, Isaac appears later on, Magic, Malia shows up at the end, Season 5A, Stiles Stilinski is a Little Shit, Stiles does what he wants, Stiles is Pushed Out of the Pack, Stiles is not a Damsel in Distress, Stiles-centric, bad wishes, brief appearance from Theo later on as well, he has anger issues, how else should I tag this, not the alternative universe one, pack travels to alternative universe, stiles lies, the original one, things are way different there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-05-11 16:16:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5633047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alis_Wonderland/pseuds/Alis_Wonderland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a heated argument, Scott and the pack accidently wish they never met Stiles. The next day, Stiles doesn’t show up at school and everyone thinks it’s just because he’s upset. When he comes late to class, that’s when they start noticing somethings about him aren’t right. First of all, he is being escorted by a pair of police officers. Second, he’s wearing sunglasses to hide a black eye and walks into the room like he doesn’t give a shit. Third, everyone else in the class either completely ignore his presence or seem afraid of the skinny teen (though the pack had to admit, Stiles seemed to have gained some muscle). Fourth and by far the most shocking, Stiles says he doesn’t know any of them.<br/>Scratch that, the most shocking part is that Stiles is a total BAMF (not that he usually isn’t, it just that none of them ever noticed before).<br/>Or the one where Scott, Lydia, Derek, and Peter end up in an alternative universe due to an accidental wish.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Accidental Wish

**Author's Note:**

> This takes after the events of the Season 5A finale.
> 
> I don't know exactly how many chapters there will be, but I'd say no more than 10.  
> These stories are getting longer every time I decide to move on to my next one.  
> Updating will happen unregularly due to college almost restarting, other fic ideas, and other random things in my life.
> 
> Please comment and tell me what you think of it.

Scott doesn’t really remember how it all came down to him saying those dreadful words. He was still trying to wrap his mind over what Theo had said about Stiles and Donavan, but he didn’t really know what to believe. Stiles had come to Derek’s loft after finding out that both Derek and Peter had returned to Beacon Hills. Only Scott, Lydia, Peter, and Derek were there since Liam was still being affected by the death of Hayden and Kira was out of town trying to regain control of her fox. And Malia was who knows where.

From the moment Stiles had arrived at the meeting, he was begging Scott to listen to his side of the story. Unfortunately, Scott was not willing to hear anything from him. After several minutes of arguing with Stiles and letting the others know what Theo had said, Scott and the others decided they no longer wanted Stiles to be part of the pack. Their personal reasons that played in their heads were the following. Scott didn’t believe he could trust Stiles after finding out about the Donavan incident and wanted to be away from him for a while. Derek didn’t believe Stiles would kill someone in cold blood, but he decided using that excuse would be the best way to get the human to leave and stop getting hurt by being around them. He just wanted him safe. Peter knew Stiles was quite valuable, but as a human he was nothing but a nuisance. If Peter were ever able to become an Alpha again, he would make sure to give the teen the bite, but for now he wanted Stiles to stay away and safe. That way the teen could be used as a trump card later. Lydia liked Stiles, but she didn’t know what to believe. She wanted to keep the human safe, but she also wanted the rest of the group to be safe from him. She knew that the past should be left where it was, but she couldn’t forget about the Nogitsune. There could still be a bit of left in Stiles and she thought it was best he stayed away for a bit.

Stiles continued to beg to be listened, and that’s when it happened. Scott snapped out of frustration and before he knew it, the words had already left his mouth.

“I wish we had never met you, Stiles!” Scott bellowed. The others nodded in agreement. It pained them, but they wanted to make sure the stubborn teen stayed away.

That stopped everyone in their tracks. Stiles stopped begging, instead something in him seemed to have snapped. Anger suddenly bubbled in his veins, and it was at that moment that everyone knew that they had succeeded in pushing him away.

“You know what, fine! I guess I was just kidding myself when I thought you guys cared for me and thought of me as an equal! I was blind, but now I see the truth! I was never really part of this pack, but you know what, it’s fine!” Stiles yelled with so much venom in his voice. “I’m done being the loyal sidekick. Goodbye, Scott. Humph, some shitty True Alpha you turned out to be.”

With that, Stiles was gone from their lives. None of them could feel the pack bond with the human anymore, it not only snapped, but also shattered.

The next day at school felt weird to Scott and Lydia, but they couldn’t figure what made it so weird. Sure, there was a bunch of people in the school that they never even knew went there. Sure, they didn’t see anyone else from the pack, but with the way things were right now with the Dread Doctors, it was to be expected.

Stiles never showed up to their first class together, but they knew he wouldn’t want to see them after yesterday’s events. Knowing this, they were taken completely off guard when he did show up to their government class half way through class. But his presence wasn’t the only thing that affected them. First of all, a pair of cops were escorting him to class, each resting a hand on his shoulders as he were to run away if they let go. Second, Stiles was wearing sunglasses in the classroom and Scott could tell he was trying to hide a black eye. Third, everyone in the class was trying to avoid looking at Stiles, including the teacher. Scott could smell the slight amount of fear coming off of everyone. He could also smell the dangerous vibe coming off Stiles, and he hated to admit it, but it scared him a bit. Fourth, where did all these piercings come from? Like seriously, Stiles now sported a black piercing on his left eyebrow, one on his lip, and two blue-black piercings on the top of each ear. Didn’t Stiles hate needles?

The cops left as soon as Stiles made his way into the classroom and sat at the very back of the room. It surprised Lydia and Scott when he decided to sit next to them. Throughout the rest of the class period, Scott and Lydia couldn’t help but to constantly make glances at Stiles, who ended up falling asleep in his desk a couple minutes after he walked in.

As soon as the bell rang, Stiles sprang up from his chair and quickly left the classroom. It was the last class for the day, so it was natural for people to be eager to leave, but Stiles’s eagerness seemed too much for a guy who had nothing to do afterschool anymore. Scott didn’t really want to go check on him because of their current situation, but something wasn’t settling right with him. Lydia felt the same way, so they decided to chase after Stiles.

“Hey Stiles, I know we aren’t in very good terms right now, but we just wanted to check if you are okay.” Scott asked after they finally caught up to the other teen in the parking lot.

Much to their shock, Stiles just gave them a confused glare. “Who the fuck are you guys and how do you know my name?”

“Oh come on, Stiles. I get that you hate us, but please come up with something better than pretending not to know us.” Lydia said with a bit of sass.

Stiles gave her a small smirk.

“Girl, IDK what you and your friend are talking about, but I couldn’t help but notice all your staring in class today.” He told her with a mischievous grin. “I know I look divine, and we would go perfectly together like cheese and wine…but please stop staring. It would never work out between us, I would only break your heart. Hope there’s no hard feelings, Love.”

With that, Stiles left them and made his way to his blue jeep. Scott and Lydia just stared in confusion as he drove away from school.

“His heartbeat was calm and it didn’t seem like he was lying,” Scott stated in shock.

Before either one of them could say anything farther, they both got text messages from Derek telling them that something felt off and to meet at Deaton’s to discuss things.

After arriving at the vet’s in Lydia’s car, they were met with the sight of a grumpy Derek and a cryptic Peter parking next to them. Once inside, they were met with the sight of Deaton checking a husky’s health. The vet stopped in his tracks and his heart skipped a beat before quickly composing himself and causally waving at them. He didn’t say anything until he had put the dog back in a kennel.

“So what can I do for you today, guys?” he asked causally, though there was surprise and curiosity in his eyes.

“Well, we would like to know what is going on here. Many things around town are not making sense.” Derek complained.

Both Hale’s went on to explaining that their house had lost the scent of certain pack members and that some people didn’t seem to remember them even though they had seen them several times. Scott and Lydia were just about to tell the group about Stiles’s odd behavior when speak of the devil, said teenager walks into the building with a large box in his hands. Both Peter and Derek took in the teen’s new look (especially the black eye) with shock, but said teen didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he continued walked up to Deaton and setting down the box at his feet.

“Hey D, how’s it been? I brought in the supplies you’ve been asking for.” he greeted the vet with a smile.

“Very good, Stiles. I just came back from my trip from South America, from which I brought you a little souvenir from.” Deaton answered before handing a small package to the teen.

“Aw, D. You shouldn’t have. Thanks man.”

They continued their conversation for a couple more seconds before they were interrupted by Derek’s growling.

“What is he doing here?” he growled at Stiles. “I thought we made it clear you were done with the pack! That includes coming here!”

“Watch it furball,” Stiles countered as he stood in front of Derek to have a glaring contest. “I’m going to assume you’re a werewolf from the amount of bitching you’re doing right now. And anyways, I don’t know what pack you are talking about, but I sure as hell know I am more than welcome here.”

Derek puffed up more and glared at Stiles in hopes of scaring him away.

When that didn’t work, he went for a more direct approach and pressed Stiles against a wall.

“I said GET. OUT.” he growled.

That’s when Deaton intervened. “Please don’t hurt him, Stiles. He’s just in a state of confusion right now. I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”

Derek was just about to defend his reason for pinning the teen to the wall, when he suddenly realized the vet hadn’t been talking to him. Instead, Deaton had been looking Stiles’s direction. Why would he have told Stiles not to hurt him? Stiles was only a weak human, what damage could he do? Besides, said teenager was helplessly pinned against a wall.

“Stiles, please don’t.” Deaton calmly begged again. “I rather not have a mess in my clinic.”

That’s when Derek, and everyone else in the room made another realization. They all followed where Deaton was looking and noticed that the vet hadn’t been staring at Stiles, but at the knife that was in the teen’s hand. The knife that was currently brushing gently against Derek’s neck.

How had none of them noticed Stiles pull out the knife? And more importantly, how had Derek not noticed that it was touching him?

As if seeing everyone’s reactions, Stiles pressed the knife a little more to Derek’s skin and instantly the growling werewolf felt the metal burn his skin. The blade was laced with wolfsbane.

“Tell Fido over here to put me down, and then I’ll think about not killing him,” Stiles hissed.

Derek instantly put him down without hesitation. There was something about Stiles’s tone that said the teen would go through with his threat, if they didn’t listen to him.

“D, you should train your dogs a little better or at least keep them on a leash.” Stiles calmly sighed as he put the knife back in his pocket.

“Yes, certainly Stiles.” Deaton apologized with a slight bow of his head, which the others were shocked by. “I’ll tell them to behave themselves better.”

Stiles simply nodded, and was about to continue his conversation with Deaton as if nothing had happened, but Scott was the one who interrupted this time.

“What the hell was that Stiles?!” the young Alpha questioned, desperately wanting to know what he had just witnessed.

Stiles simply shrugged as he causally leaned against a wall. “It’s called self-defense. Now, I have a question for you. How do you know my name, Puppy?”

Everyone except Deaton and Stiles wore very confused faces.

“Cause I’ve known you for most of my life, that why!” Scott angrily answered what he thought was a very obvious/stupid question.

“Puppy, you need to take a chill pill”, Stiles said with a slightly confused expression. “I think you got the wrong guy…though I don’t know how that explains you knowing my name...But the thing is that I have no idea who you are. I’ve never met you in my life.”

Peter scoffed. “That’s a lie. You and McCall have always been best friends. It was basically impossible to separate you two.”

Stiles gave him a glare. “I though werewolves were supposed to know if people were lying by listening to their heart. You must be a very stupid bunch.”

Peter, as well as Derek and Scott frowned at that. Stiles was telling the truth they realized. His heartbeat had stayed the same through his explanation.

“But how is this possible?” Lydia asked.

“I guess he is also among those affected by whatever is going on,” Derek grumbled as he tried to collect his thoughts. “I told you guys to meet here because certain people have been acting strange…Some didn’t even recognize Peter or me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong Mr. Sourwolf,” Stiles started to say, ignoring Derek’s glare. “I feel perfectly fine. I hate to break it us guys, but the problem lies with you guys.”

Derek was about to counter, but Deaton butted in.

“I agree with Stiles on this,” the vet stated. “You guys are the ones who are not acting like yourselves…among other things.”

“What?!” Scott blurted out hysterically. “But Stiles is the one who doesn’t remember us, so clearly something isn’t right with him!”

Both Deaton and Stiles shared a look before the vet took a step towards the confused pack.

“Scott, you and Stiles have never been best friends, in fact today is the first time you have ever met if I understand correctly.”

He looked at Stiles to confirm what he had just said, and the teen simply nodded.

What came was complete silence.

At one point, they expected Stiles to start blurting out very random things, but they were shocked that he didn’t. Instead, the teen remained quietly leaning against a wall with a now bored expression.

Eventually, Lydia was the one to break the silence.

“Your wish, Scott!” she exclaimed, causing everyone to give a little jump.

“What?” Scott answered with his confused puppy look.

Everyone shared his confusion on the redhead’s exclamation.

“The last thing you said to Stiles, remember?” she huffed as if the answer was clear as day. When no one understood what she was getting at, she continued. “You told Stiles you wished we had never met him…What if your wish accidently came true?”

Realization dawned on Scott’s, Derek’s, and Peter’s faces.

“Wait, are you saying you wished me away? As in you wished on a shooting star or something and poof, wish granted?” Stiles huffed in disbelief.

“That could explain things” Peter simply stated.

“But if Stiles never met Scott, how is it that he still knows about the supernatural? Scott was the only reason he got caught up in this mess in the first place.” Derek questioned.

Stiles gave him a dry laugh. “Ha, as if I need a stupid puppy to get myself into trouble. Trouble and I go hand in hand.”

No one disagreed with his statement.

“Perhaps, your wish was granted, but not in the way you think”, Deaton stated.

Everyone waited for him to say more, but when he didn’t, they all gave him looks of annoyance.

“D, stop being cryptic. You know how much I hate when you do that,” Stiles grumbled. Somewhere during this conservation he had moved from his spot against the wall and was now lying on one of the examination tables as if it was the most comfortable thing in the world.

“Sorry, it’s just that I was thinking,” the vet started saying. “What if Mr. McCall’s wish didn’t warp their reality, but instead teleported him and his friends to an alternative reality that already had the requirements of the wish?”

“And what makes so certain we are in an alternative reality?” Derek grumbled.

“Because, it is the more reasonable explanation,” the vet said and continued before someone interrupted him on how is was reasonable at all. “Warping a reality takes too much power and is nearly impossible. Most supernatural creatures that have the power to grant wishes prefer to simply toss their victims into another reality because it takes less power…Still, it is a rare feat to do…Besides, two of you are supposed to be dead from what I remember. And the other two of you went left town a day ago.”

The pack stared at Deaton in shock. Stiles continued laying on the table and not giving a shit.

“W-wait, what?!” the pack asked in unison.

“In this world, Derek and Peter were killed by the alpha pack. Peter had barely been resurrected and was still too weak to put up much of a fight,” Deaton explained. “I thought at first that someone might have resurrected you two again and Scott and Lydia had simply returned from their trip, but now, I think alternative realities is our best bet.”

“And why didn’t you think that little fact was important enough to be the first thing to say to us?” Derek growled.

Deaton remained calm and indifferent. “I wanted to get a better read on your actions and the situation before making educated guesses.”

“…Okay, so how do we go back to our world?” Lydia snarked, trying to act as if the vet’s talk of death and resurrection hadn’t affected her at all.

This caused Stiles to have a giggle fit.

“Ha-ha. You made it seem like you guys are aliens,” he said before turning towards Lydia with a grin. “Which, with your looks Red, I’d say you’re definitely. Out. Of. This. World.”

He nonchalantly blew her a kiss, much to the pack’s shock and slight annoyance.

“I wouldn’t know how to answer your question, Lydia”, Deaton said, letting everyone focus back on the problem at hand. “I don’t know what type of magic or power we are dealing with, so I would have to look into it.”

The pack grumbled in complaint, but reluctantly admitted that it was reasonable for Deaton not to know what they were facing.

“Look D, as fun as this all was,” Stiles interrupted, gesturing to the whole room as he rolled off the metal table. “I’ve gotta go, Luca is expecting me later tonight and I have to clean my house before that…so bye.”

He turned around to leave, but was stopped by Deaton placing a hand on his shoulder. Everyone in the room could clearly see that he didn’t like to be touched by the way he glared at the hand, but Deaton made no move to remove his arm and Stiles made no move to remove it himself.

“Don’t you want to know what is happening here?” the vet questioned.

“No,” the teen responded bluntly. “This your guys’ business, not mine. Sorry D, as much as I like you, I don’t really like the mutts you surround yourself with…though the redhead seems alright.”

“How can you not like us when you have never met us?” Derek growled defensively. He was about to press Stiles against a wall again, but quickly stopped himself when he saw Stiles tap the pocket that held his knife with a smirk on his lips. Oh, how he really wanted to wipe that smirk off his face at the moment.

“I might have never met you guys personally,” Stiles started to answer. “but your guys’ reputation precedes you. As soon as D said that this puppy’s name is Scott McCall, I knew that I must be dealing with the infamous McCall pack.”

“Infamous?” Derek questioned with crossed arms, it was the only thing he could do to keep himself from trying to hurt Stiles into submission. He really wasn’t liking how cocky this Stiles was acting.

Stiles shrugged, not caring how macho the older wolf was trying to be.

“Everyone knows that you guys have lost many of your pack members. You’re basically a beacon for death, and that is not something I want to associate with. Thank you, but no thank you. My appointment with Death ain’t happening for a long, long time if I have anything to do with it.”

Before anyone could say anything else, Stiles took off. The sound of his jeep pulling away from the building clearly heard from inside the clinic.

Deaton shook his head slightly as he sighed. “That boy is so untrusting.”

“What happened to him?” Peter asked out of curiosity. “I would get it if he didn’t want to help us because he remembered us, but he doesn’t, so why?”

“He doesn’t like to let people into his heart”, Deaton answered with a sad tone. “He pushes people away before he lets himself like them. I’m surprised he even talks to me.”

“Doesn’t he have friends?” Scott asked, feeling a little guilty that his wish might have also caused Stiles to be lonely, though he still couldn’t forget what his ex-best friend did to Donavan back in their world.

“He does, but he likes to put distance between them. He’s so afraid of the possibility of losing them one day that he doesn’t allow himself to love them. Loving them would only make the pain worse if they were to die.”

“How did he end up caught up in the supernatural in this world? In ours, it was because Scott got bit,” Lydia questioned.

Deaton sighed before starting to give them the basic details.

It turns out that after his mother died, Stiles’s father fell into depression and constantly resorted to drinking as a way to get away from his sorrows. He never hit Stiles or anything, but he was never there for his son either. Stiles had to grow up too soon, and help look out for his father and him. After Sheriff Stilinski got fired, Stiles took up the mantle as man of the house. He found any job he could to keep the bills from stacking up. Stiles hated that he couldn’t be like any other kid his age, and he took out his frustration by acting out.

Scott was depressed to hear that since Stiles never met Scott, the teen had no shoulder to cry on after his mother died. He had been alone, and Scott felt very bad about it. Instead, Stiles found that the only way to fill the empty hole in his heart was to cause mayhem. Stiles ended up in juvie several times in the course of a few years. All times for different reasons. People tried to help him, but he would no longer let anyone near him. Stiles tried to shut the world out, and succeeded. Until, he ended up way over his head in trouble. Somehow, he had a run in with the wrong crowd and nearly got killed. That’s when a certain guy named Luca came into play and helped Stiles back on to his feet. Deaton really didn’t elaborate much on who this Luca guy was, but the vet did say that Luca and Stiles are thick as thieves (not that they steal or anything…well maybe Stiles does). Somewhere along the way, Stiles ended up meeting a bunch of supernatural creatures, some on good terms and some on bad. Stiles being Stiles, he quickly got caught in their world with no indication of leaving it.

Overall, this explanation of Stiles was not as detailed as the pack would have liked, but then again the explanation had come from Deaton, the guy who loved keeping people in the dark for some reason.

After answering a few questions with some vague answers, Deaton basically kicked the pack out of his clinic. Saying he would look into what he could do to help them, but admitting he didn’t know much and that their best bet was with a witch named Iris Granger. The only problem is that Deaton didn’t say how to find her, though he did say that Stiles knew…which lead to their current situation.

Standing in front of Stiles’s house.

Stiles was on his porch with a water spray bottle in his hand, nonchalantly spraying some plants on the floor next to him.

“What do you guys want?” he grumbled without looking in their direction.

“Deaton told us you would know where to find a witch named Iris,” Derek responded.

Stiles simply shrugged and carried on as if he didn’t care what the werewolf had just said.

“So what if I do or don’t know her?”

That resulted in Derek growling in frustration, his eyes glowing blue.

“Listen here, Stiles. You’ll help us find her, or I’ll rip out your throat with my teeth”

Stiles finally turned towards them, only to give them a smug grin.

“I dare you to come over here and try that, big guy.”

That’s when Derek lost it. Before Scott or the others could stop him, he was already slightly wolfed out and running towards Stiles.

But said teenager didn’t have a trace of fear on him. He just kept grinning at the werewolf charging at him.

Scott, Lydia, and Peter just stared with confusion at Stiles, waiting for a reaction. There wasn’t one from him, instead their unasked question was answered another way.

With Derek slamming face first into what seemed to be an invisible force field and falling on his ass, looking like a confused puppy.

Stiles’s laughter could be heard throughout the neighborhood.

“Ah, nothing beats the fresh scent of mountain ash in the afternoon,” he says with a chuckle as he pointed at a ring of black dust that surrounded his house. He then plucked one of the purple flowers he had been watering and started twirling it in his thumbs. “Maybe you would prefer some lovely wolfsbane up your ass.”

Peter couldn’t help but chuckle alongside the impish young man standing in front of them. Derek on the other hand, only had sights set on ripping the teen’s throat.

Before he could try anything, Scott stepped in front of him to block Derek from trying to get to Stiles.

“Look, I get you don’t like us, but could you at least take us to Iris. The sooner we figure out how to get back home the sooner we’ll be out of your hair,” Scott tried to reason as he stepped right by the edge of mountain ash so he could be face to face with his ex-best friend.

Stiles remained with a bored expression on his face and didn’t say a word. Instead, he causally raised his arm and sprayed Scott right in the face with his spray bottle.

“Bad puppy,” Stiles said in his bored demeanor. “You don’t have the right to request anything from me. Your problems are not my problems. Get it through your thick skull. I. Don’t. Want. To. Help. You. Now, why don’t you fuck off and leave me alone.”

“Why do you push people away? Deaton s-”

“Deaton should learn to keep his mouth shut.”

With that, Stiles turned towards his front door and opened it slightly, ready to go inside and forget all about the pack that was standing on his lawn.

Unfortunately for him, fate had other plans for him.

With a swift blur of movement and momentary physical contact on his leg, a yellow tabby cat rushed out of the house and past Stiles.

“Shit,” Stiles whispered as if he could not believe what just happened. Then he quickly broke out of his state of stupor and took off after the cat in slight panic. “Shit. Shit. Shit.”

As soon as he crossed the line of mountain ash, Stiles felt someone grab a hold of his hoodie, preventing him from going any farther.

Turning with a glare to see who had dared to stop him in his tracks, Stiles came face to face with a smug Peter Hale.

“Let me go, I have to get that cat!” Stiles yelled, as he struggled to get loose. He managed to slide out of his grey hoodie and continued to chase after that cat when what seemed to be a brick wall appeared in front of him. As he slammed into it, he realized it was not a wall after all, but a very buff Derek Hale.

“ _Your problems are not our problems_ ,” Derek chuckled with a sharp-toothed grin as he lifted the teen off the ground by the helm of his shirt. “Now take us to Iris, or I’ll repay you for your nice little welcome you gave me earlier.”

“You don’t understand I need the cat!...If you manage to catch the cat under five minutes, unharmed, I’ll take you to Iris,” Stiles growled.

“Deal,” Derek responded, though he didn’t see what was so important about the cat.

Scott, Derek, and Peter quickly shared a nod and raced after the scent of the yellow cat. Leaving Lydia behind with a Stiles who was pacing around his lawn, counting down numbers in a quick fashion.

Lydia was about to ask him about his strange behavior when the three werewolves rushed back with a hissing bundle of yellow fur in Derek’s hands. Stiles immediately ran at them, still rapidly counting, and headed towards the cat moving around in a confused Derek’s hands.

Stiles quickly pulled the weird collar, which was unfashionable in Lydia’s opinion, off his cat’s neck, and received a hiss for his actions.

“Hhhssss to you too, furball,” Stiles hissed at his cat. Stiles then dropped to the ground, rolled up his left pant leg, removed his shoe, and preceded to try to fit the collar on to his foot. He was still counting.

At that moment, the pack realized it hadn’t been a cat’s collar, but a house arrest ankle bracelet.

“You’re a criminal?!?!” Scott shouted in disbelief.

“Aw, your words wound me, Puppy”, Stiles said, feigning being emotionally hurt.

He quickly finished successfully putting back on the bracelet and shoe, and stood back up as nothing had happened. And not a moment too soon, as a police car drove down the street and rolled up next to the sidewalk.

The cop inside rolled down his window and wore a very pleased smile.

“I was told a Mr. Stilinski triggered his house arrest bracelet by stepping out of his given boundaries,” the man said with a smile that would have looked natural on a snake.

Stiles stood on the edge of his lawn, leaning against his fence. He had the most fake smile the pack had ever seen on him. The wolves could practically smell all the anger the teen was keeping inside.

“Well, you see Officer Pasty” Stiles started to say all innocent like. The officer gave him a glare when the teen said his name. “Oh, my bad, Officer _Pacey_. You see, I was obeying my house arrest to the finest print, but then my poor ity bity kitty, Figaro, got spooked and ran out the door. I chased after him because I didn’t want him to get hit by a car, but unfortunately that meant stepping out of my given boundaries. Luckily, my friends were able to help catch my poor baby before something happened.”

The pack stared at the teen in shock. If they hadn’t been looking at his face while he said all this, or had been there when everything happened, they would have truly believed Stiles was being sincere. But they knew he wasn’t, and the thing that shocked the wolves the most was that Stiles’s heart never sped up or skipped a beat. He had lied, and his heart had lied alongside him.

“I’ll give a warning this time, seeing that you are back in the area you belong,” Officer Pacey grumbled. “Next time though, I’ll be forced to arrest you.”

“Fair enough,” Stiles simply said with an innocent smile as he turned to leave towards his house.

But the cop had other plans. An evil gleam in his eyes said so.

“How’s your old man fairing by the way? Being the town drunk can be quite embarrassing on its own, but having a delinquent as a son, now that’s on a whole different level.”

That stopped Stiles in his tracks.

“Shut up.”

Pacey’s snake like grin got bigger.

“Bet your momma is very glad she croaked when she did. It must have been the best thing that ever happened to her what with her town drunk of a husband and her pathetic excuse of a son.”

Stiles now stood on the edge of his lawn again, glaring daggers at the policer officer. Gripping on to the fence until his knuckles were white, and he was practically foaming at the mouth. The pack had never seen him this angry before, not even when they kicked him out of the pack the other day. This side of the teen was very new to them and they didn’t know how to deal with it, so they just stood there staring as the scene unfolded.

“Shut the fuck up! Don’t you dare talk about my parents like that!”

Pacey just sat comfy in his car and leaned closer towards Stiles. Though he remained grinning on the inside, the wolves knew it was a different story on the outside. The man was slightly scared of the lanky teen, but he hid that fear very well.

“Why don’t you come over here and do something about it,” he teased. He looked at Stiles as the teen stared at the line that marked his boundaries as if contemplating if confronting Pacey was worth breaking his house arrest and getting arrested. Pacey knew Stiles wouldn’t risk it, so the man smiled, knowing he had the teen wrapped around his finger. “That’s what I thought, Mr. Stilinski.”

Derek instantly remembered Stiles taunting Derek into going after him earlier, the teen knew there was a line of mountain ash to protect him, so he didn’t have anything to worry about. It was the same with this Officer Pacey. The man knew Stiles wouldn’t cross the line, so he was free to brutally taunt the teen as much as he wanted. Something told Derek this wasn’t the first time Pacey provoked Stiles and it would definitely wouldn’t be the last. Derek’s wolf growled at the horrible thought. He did find the teen annoying, but no one deserved to be treated like that.

“Leave him alone,” Derek growled as he stepped towards the cop car. He had no problem crossing the invisible line.

Pacey seemed to have noticed the pack for the first time, and his heart sped up in slight fear when he saw Derek heading towards him. His outer expression remained grinning, though.

“You’re going to let your friends fight your battles for you, Mr. Stilinski? I thought you were a man, guess I was wrong. You are nothing but a scared little boy,” Pacey teased. “I’ll be seeing you around, _boy_. And your friends should know when to keep their mouths shut if they know what is good for them.”

With that, the snake-like police officer drove off.

Stiles remained where he was, glaring at the leaving vehicle. It wasn’t until the cop car disappeared out of sight that he moved. And at that point, he lost it.

Something in him snapped and he went on a rampage through his lawn. Smashing pottery, kicking bushes, breaking anything he could find. The pack hated to admit that they felt a bit scared of the dark aura that loomed over the teen at the moment.

“Stupid fucking Pasty! How fucking dare he talk to me like that? One of these fucking days, I swear I’m going to light his fucking shitty ass house on fire!”

Both Peter and Derek flinched at the mention of burning houses. And it didn’t make it any better that they couldn’t tell whether Stiles was lying or not.

Stiles’s rampage through his lawn lasted several minutes, and no one made a move to stop him. Once he was done, they silently helped him pick up broken pieces of whatever it was that he had torn apart.

Derek couldn’t do much since he still had Stiles’s cat in his hands, which were covered in scratches that were quickly healing only to be replaced by new scratch marks.

Stiles seemed to notice Derek’s discomfort and took the yellow tabby, on which he placed the ankle bracelet once again before taking the cat back inside the house. The pack hadn’t even noticed when Stiles had taken the ankle bracelet off his leg, but then again, there were a lot of things they were having trouble noticing. This Stiles was different from their own, and with the difference came surprises.

The pack thought Stiles had decided to make his getaway from them as soon as he went inside his house, but much to their surprise, he came back a minute later with curly fries in his mouth and a greasy bag in his left hand.

“Alright, let’s go. It’ll be getting dark soon,” he sighed as he locked his front door.

“I had thought you would have stayed inside and be safe from us in that little ring of mountain ash,” Peter mused.

“Sadly, I tend to keep my side of a deal when people keep theirs. Now, let’s go. Your car or mine?”


	2. The Brightest Things Fade the Fastest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally posting again!!! Sorry I haven't been around for almost two months :..(  
> To put it simply, life happened and I don't really have much time on my hands lately. This means it might take the same amount time to post the next chapters and other stories. Don't worry, these stories are not being abandoned, it'll just take a while for me to update. Sorry for having you guys wait so long, I hope you can be patient with me.
> 
> *Not too long ago, I read a Tumblr post about how the condition of Roscoe the Jeep has to do with how the relationship between Stiles and Scott is going. If Roscoe is fine, the best friends are fine. If Roscoe is having problems, Scott and Stiles are on bad terms. When Stiles is trying to fix the jeep, he only uses duct tape and doesn’t try too hard. It could be taken as Stiles being the only one who is trying to keep his friendship with Scott, and since Scott doesn’t really do his part, Stiles is only putting in the minimum effort. And there is the possibility that one day Stiles will give up on trying to fix things.  
> In this chapter, I put that Roscoe isn’t working at all as a representation of Scott and Stiles’s relationship. In this universe, Stiles doesn’t know Scott at all and is basically an asshole to most people, so his relationship skills/people skills are basically shit (hence Roscoe’s condition).*
> 
> Please let me know if I made any grammar mistakes, difficult to explain plot, etc. I wanted to post this asap, so there's probably some mistakes. :)

In the end, it was decided they would take Lydia’s car since Stiles’s Jeep wouldn’t even start. The thing looked so bad that no amount of duct tape could possible hide any of its many defects, not that this Stiles even bothered to do any crappy repairs. It would seem that Roscoe was in even worse condition here than the version in their world, and something about it made the pack upset. They knew Roscoe used to belong to Stiles’s mom and Stiles would do anything to keep the memory of her alive, so they couldn’t understand why this Stiles had let the jeep get this bad.

  
When asked about it, Stiles just shrugged and said he didn’t have time for it at the moment. It struck them weird that this Stiles didn’t care as much about his jeep as their Stiles did. Even with all the supernatural madness going around, their Stiles always found time to fix Roscoe (even if they were poorly done fixes). Apparently, this Stiles couldn’t manage his time as well. It was only with differences such as this that reminded the pack that this wasn’t their world.

  
The car ride was awfully boring as Lydia drove (she didn’t trust Stiles’s driving skills) and the rest of the pack were having a conversation on how to possibly get back to their world and all the drama that was waiting for them once they did.

  
Stiles simply ignored them all and blankly stared out his window, only saying something when he needed to tell Lydia where to turn. He really didn’t need to say much though, all they really had to do was drive down the straight road that lead towards the east side of the preserve.

  
The wolves were a bit antsy because the area was not part of their territory in their world, and it would probably be the same in this world. Meaning they didn’t have any jurisdiction once they set foot on the territory. The wolves didn’t like that one bit. It was in their nature to love the feel of power and control, so being at the mercy of whoever lived in the east end woods didn’t settle well with their pride.

  
To keep their minds off of their restlessness, the pack tried to start a conversation with Stiles. They weren’t being so successful.

  
“So who was that asshole cop?” Peter asked casually, secretly wanting his curiosity to be satisfied.

  
“None of your damn business.” was the only answer, clearly meaning that topic was out of the question.

  
The older zombie took a moment to think of another possible topic before asking a new question.

  
“Okay, then can you tell us how you got arrested and got that lovely ankle bracelet that you fashionably put on your cat?”

  
“Arson”, Stiles answered simply, as if he just making a comment on the weather. “I lit a building on fire.”

  
Both Hales stiffened a bit.

  
Lydia was quick to change the subject before Stiles gave them more details. Something told her that this Stiles wouldn’t elaborate on something unless he wanted a certain reaction from people. It was probably the devilish gleam in his eyes or the way his lips slightly curved upwards when Peter and Derek stiffened at the mention of burning buildings that let Lydia know what motives Stiles held for actually talking to the pack. She shivered at the thought. This Stiles might not have known who the Hales were in person, but Lydia was sure he knew their backstory, meaning the teen could easily make comments that would bring bad memories to Derek and Peter. According to the little Deaton had told them, this Stiles didn’t really like many people, so he would try almost anything to get them to back away from him and leave him alone. Even if it meant bringing up dirt on them.

  
At that moment, Lydia felt like slapping Stiles for being such an ass, but instead, she calmed herself down and chose to ask the teen a question. There was no need to give Stiles the reaction he wanted, and just to give him hell, Lydia secretly promised to be extra friendly to him. She hoped that kindness would slowly warm up his bitter heart.

  
“So, I was wondering if even though you never met us, maybe you have met others. We all went to the same school, so I would find it hard to believe you haven’t run into them at least once.”

  
“Maybe”, Stiles answered with a bored sigh, forgetting all about his plot to torture the Hales with memories.

  
Lydia thought of that as a win.

  
“Have you ever met someone named Kira? She’s a kitsune that moved here a while ago. Or how about a Liam? He’s two years younger than us.”

  
Stiles slightly frowned at the mention of the two names.

  
“Maybe it’s best if you don’t know about my world’s version of your pack -man, it’s weird saying ‘my world’ by the way- It won’t do you any good, Red.”

  
Lydia quickly pulled over to the side of the road and looked at Stiles. The rest of the pack turned towards the teen as well.

  
“A-are…are they dead?” the banshee stuttered.

  
Stiles simply nodded.

  
“How?!” Scott shouted angrily. He couldn’t picture Kira and Liam were dead in this world or any other.

  
“Are you sure you want to know?” Stiles asked with a bored expression, before proceeding to explain after reaching glares from all the people in the car. He let out a sigh. “The official story the police are going with is that they got in a car accident while they went on vacation to Mexico over the summer. But from what I heard around the supernatural grapevine, your pack was attacked by creatures called berserkers and those two fell victims to them. Supposedly they weren’t quick deaths.”

  
Scott and Lydia had tears in their eyes while Peter and Derek just bowed their heads down silently mourning the loss of two pack members.

  
“I know it must upset you very much, but you have to remember that this isn’t your world. Things happened differently here. As soon as you return to your reality, you’ll see them again.”

  
That was probably the nicest thing this Stiles had said to them so far, so they all gave him small thankful smiles. Even though there was no trace of expression on Stiles when he said it. No pity. No sadness. Nothing. Just emptiness. But, the pack would take anything the slightest bit nice they could get from this Stiles. Unfortunately, the moment was ruined by Scott, whose curiosity got the best of him.

  
“Did you ever meet an Allison Argent?”

  
Stiles didn’t look at them, but nodded. “She was a good hunter. I think she shot me with an arrow one night, but it could have also been her dad. It was too dark to tell.”

  
“Is she de-”, Scott started to ask.

  
Stiles nodded. “Alpha Pack.”

  
“Erica? Boyd?”

  
Another nod. “Same reason.”

  
“Jackson?!”

  
“Jackson? What can I say, the guy was a douchebag, but even he didn’t deserve to meet his end the way he did. You know, I keyed his beloved Porsche one time…I almost got arrested for it. There was also this other time, I put itching powder all over his lacrosse gear…ah, good times… Supposedly, he was a defective werewolf who turned into a lizard instead of becoming a wolfy. He was hunted down by the Argents after he went on a killing spree. Wolfsbane shoved down his throat and sliced in half with a sword.”

  
Scott was so shocked that many of the people he had known had died in this universe. He tried to keep calm, but wasn’t doing such a good job. His eyes were glowing red and his claws were growing out of his fingertips. It didn’t help that Stiles kept an uninterested expression on his face, as if telling the pack about all these deaths was like talking about a boring day at school. It was the teen’s indifference that made Scott think back to finding out about Donovan, making him question Stiles’s humanity. Before anyone knew it, Scott launched himself at Stiles and pinned him against the nearest tree.

  
“Where were you Stiles?!” he growled at the human teen. “You were needed, and you did nothing! If you had been there, maybe they would have been alive!”

  
Stiles just let himself be yelled at with the same bored expression on his face, but it was obvious he would attack Scott if the teen Alpha tried to do more than just pin him to a tree. The wolfsbane blade in his hand told that much. And unlike holding it against the wolf’s neck like he had done with Derek, this time Stiles had the knife positioned under Scott’s armpit. A place that could create a perfect and easy stab to the wolf’s heart.

  
“Typical,” Stiles calmly scoffed. “When something goes wrong, the obvious solution is to blame someone else. Because obviously it can’t be little Puppy McCall’s fault. He’s perfect in every way.”  
Scott seemed to slightly snap out of his blind anger and loosened his grip on Stiles.

  
“I’m not even _your_ Stiles, so I don’t need to do shit for you. And even if I was, YOU, the oh so perfect Alpha, wished him/me away. You better learn to live with your fucking mistakes, _Puppy_.” Stiles snarled, and then leaned to whisper into Scott’s ear. “There are many things I could be blamed for, but your stupidity isn’t one of them.”

  
Stiles shoved Scott out of his way, and started walking away into the woods, running his hand on the bark of each tree that he came close to.

  
“I’m glad I never met you idiots.”

  
The pack gave a whine at Stiles’s comment, but understood the teen had the right to hate them. They quietly followed him into the woods, all attempts to make conversation gone.

  
After what seemed like thirty minutes of silence and constant nudging and glaring from Lydia, Scott decided to speak.

  
“I’m…sorry…I shouldn’t have taken out my…anger…on you.”

  
Stiles’s response was indifferent towards Scott’s apology. Instead of sounding like an acceptance to the apology, it sounded like a mixture between a warning and advice.

  
“You better learn to be a decent leader because your Alpha skills are shit, Puppy. The world is a cruel and unforgiving place. Things rarely happen as we hope. You should get used to it.”

  
He continued on walking as if nothing had just happened.

 

“Why do you run your fingers through every tree bark?” Peter asked a while later, mainly just to have some sort of noise. He really hated silence, it drove him crazy. “And don’t tell us that you’re not because I noticed that you have been doing this since we first entered the forest.”

  
“I can’t go into full details because doing so may seem like an act of treason against my allies…not that I would tell you if I could anyway because let’s face it, I don’t like you. But think of my tree thing as a form of Braille.”

  
“Braille?” Scott asked, tilting his head in a confused manner.

  
“Braille is the name of the language used for blind people. It is written in a form of tiny dots etched into paper,” Lydia answered confidently.

  
“Well, aren’t you a smart cookie,” Stiles said with a smirk. “I knew there was a reason I liked you better than your little wolf friends.”

  
Lydia blushed at the compliment, but tried to causally hide it.

  
“So, you’re saying there are symbols craved into certain trees?” Derek questioned, his bushy eyebrows moving upwards in a way that Stiles couldn’t help but smirk at.

  
“That’s right. It’s easy to get lost here, so I took it upon myself to device a way for people who don’t have heightened senses like you guys to find their way around. Only those who live here in East End know what the symbols mean, so it makes the perfect secret language.”

  
The pack mused about this a bit more, but ultimately gave up trying to ask Stiles questions because he was too stubborn to spill the beans. They tried to figure out what the symbols meant on their own, but they just like odd looking triangles, stars, and an array of other shapes. It was like looking at hieroglyphics.

 

As they continued walking, all the wolves started smelling something that they couldn’t figure out. It smelled of death, yet also life at the same time. Of flowers and decay. There might have been a tinge of blood somewhere mixed in the scent, but they couldn’t be sure.

  
Before they could even question Stiles what the smell was (because they could smell a faint version of the scent on the teen as well), they were ambushed by a swarm of rapid forms.

  
It happened so fast and they couldn’t really do much damage since the wolves couldn’t see what was attacking them clearly. There were flashes of claws, fangs, and distorted faces here and there, but that was mainly all. Well, that and glowing reddish eyes.

  
Stiles seemed to be yelling something angrily, but the pack was too busy trying to focus on the attackers to pay any attention to him. The wolves managed to rake their claws through some of the assailants, but there were too many for three werewolves to handle, even if one of them was an Alpha.

  
Before long, the three wolves were overpowered and hit on the back of their heads, causing everything to quickly fade to black.

 

“Wakey, wakey little mutts,” a sinister voice chuckled somewhere in front of Scott.

  
Scott, Derek, and Peter snapped from the world of the unconscious at that instant, prepared to attack whoever was in front of them, only to find out they were tied up to trees with ropes made with wolvesbane.

  
As they took in their surroundings, the three wolves noticed they were still in the woods. And, that the sun had almost completely retreated into sky. In thirty minutes or so, it would get dark and the moon would be the only light in sight.

  
Stiles and Lydia were a couple feet away from them, protected and surrounded by a ring of mountain ash. Stiles had a few cuts and bruises on his face that joined the black eye that had already been there. Even though he was bleeding, he didn’t seem to have any trouble moving around, so the wolves thought his injuries couldn’t be that bad. A few feet from the ring of ash, was what appeared to be the shattered remains of Stiles’s cell phone, meaning they had no way of calling any of Stiles’s contacts for help. It seemed that their attackers had also tried to go after the human and banshee of the group, but only managed minor damage before Stiles pulled out a secret stash of mountain ash from his hoodie, and prevented further attacks. Lydia was basically uninjured so Stiles had most likely put himself in front of her as a shield.

  
The pair were standing in a defensive stance as they glared at the group of at least ten leather clad people who were prowling right outside their mountain ash circle. Though, it was obvious that they were trying to avoid eye contact with the vampires for long periods of time.

  
“Why don’t you come out of your silly little circle, kiddies? We don’t bite…much,” the one with a Mohawk snickered, before snapping his fangs at Stiles and Lydia.

  
“Nah, thanks punk Dracula, but we’re more comfortable in our anti-vamp zone”, Stiles snarked.

  
The wolves stared at their attackers in shock, before Scott turned to Derek and Peter with a questioning look. The Hales had told them that there was no such thing as vampires, but apparently, they were wrong. Derek looked just as confused, Peter simply shrugged.

  
Figures, they were dealing with vampires, something they really didn’t know how to deal with.

  
Well, Stiles seemed to know something about them apparently, because he didn’t seem surprised or scared really. His heart was beating calmly.

  
“You guys better high tail it out of here before my associates come and rip you to shreds,” Stiles threatened. “You’re trespassing in the Killian Family’s territory. They watch over all of East End.”

  
“Ah, so you’re one of their little pets, eh _human_?” Mohawk vamp sneered. He seemed to be the leader of the clan. “Relax, _pet_. We’re just passing by. Enjoying the view, enjoying the food…maybe if we like it enough then we might stay for a while longer.”

  
“I’m no one’s pet, _vampire_.” Stiles growled back. “And don’t you dare stay in my town.”

  
“Looks like we got ourselves a feisty one. Hehe.”

  
“Can we just compel them already, Boss? I’m dying to sink my fangs into that pretty little redhead,” a brunette asked, already eyeing her prey.

  
Stiles and Lydia’s hearts started beating rapidly with fear.

  
“Aw, Marie, you’re no fun”, Mohawk fake pouted. “You know I love making them believe they are completely safe in their little circle of magical dirt, before shattering all the hope in their little hearts completely.”

  
Scott, Lydia, Derek, and Peter weren’t sure what the vampires meant by compelling them, but Stiles did, and he didn’t look too happy about the idea.

  
“You can’t get us while we’re in this circle, and you can’t compel us unless we look directly into your eyes,” Stiles sneered, a growing scent of confidence flowing around him. “So why don’t you give up, garlic breath.”

  
“It’s true we can’t get to you while you’re in there, but we’ll just have to change that, now won’t we?” Mohawk said, a shark-like grin on his face.

  
Stiles’s confident smile wavered.

  
Mohawk used that moment to make a lasso with a long piece of rope that was left over from tying the wolves. With the skill of a cowboy, he quickly swung it in the air and threw the knotted end at Lydia. The rope, not being supernatural, easily made it past the ashes’ defenses, and effectively lassoed Lydia.

  
Stiles, trying to hold onto Lydia so that she wouldn’t get pulled out of the circle, was also pulled along with her because his strength was no match for a vampire’s.

  
“Well, what do you know? Hehe, two for the price of one.”

  
In a blink of an eye, Mohawk had one clawed hand on each of the pair’s throats, preventing them from escaping. He then turned towards Lydia and looked straight into her eyes, his gaze causing her pupils to dilate.

  
“You will do everything we tell you to. For now, don’t move and don’t talk”, he commanded, before letting go of Lydia.

  
From the look of absolute fear in the girl’s eyes, everyone could tell that Lydia was in fact compelled, and under the control and mercy of the vampire leader. The pack could only growl in protest.

  
Satisfied with what he had done to the banshee, Mohawk turned his attention to Stiles.

  
“Don’t even try to take out your knife, little human”, he chuckled, causing Stiles to stiffen. Making the others believe that had been exactly what Stiles was planning on doing. “We saw you earlier in the woods when you pulled the knife on that crooked jawed mutt over there. Nice try human, ‘A’ for effort, but we are smarter than you.”

  
“Don’t underestimate me just because I’m human, sparkles”, Stiles threatened.

  
Mohawk ignored the human’s threat and proceeded to take the knife Stiles had in his pocket. He then made Stiles look straight into his eyes so he could compel him as well.

  
“You will do everything we say. Now go stand by the pretty redhead and do as she does,” he commanded, and watched as Stiles did what he was told.

  
Stiles’s heart was now beating as fast as Lydia’s, now that he was also forced to obey every command. The wolves felt useless in this situation. They tried to break out the rope many times, but to no avail. They made threats, but that only caused the attention to back to them.

  
After the vampires were done making Stiles and Lydia do many pointless things just to make them feel like puppets with no free will, they decided the real fun should begin.

  
They handed both Lydia and Stiles a dagger and compelled them to go stab the werewolves. They watched with hysterical laughter as Lydia and Stiles unwillingly walked towards the worrying pack.

  
The vampires, believing they knew what to expect, didn’t see it coming when a dagger went flying through the air and lodged itself right into Mohawk’s heart.

  
Before any of them could comprehend what had just happened, Stiles had thrown more mountain ash into the air, trapping at least half of the vampires in a circle. He also blew some yellow powder at the remaining vamps that caused them to collapse in a fit of choking, wheezing, and sizzling of flesh. No one knew where the hell he had hidden both deadly items, but right now was not the time to ask him questions. The pack only learned the yellow powder’s name because some of the vampires were cursing its name, ‘vervain’.

  
Realizing Lydia was still under the vampire’s spell, Stiles took off a locket he was wearing and put it on her. For some reason, that made her regain control of her body. The pack made a quick mental note to ask the teen what was special about the necklace later, if they made it out of there alive.

  
He then quickly took the dagger out of Lydia’s hand and used it to cut the rope off of the wolves’ ropes.

  
“Come on, hurry. The vervain will only hold them for so long. We have to get out of here,” Stiles huffed, before taking off deeper into the woods. Not even looking back to see if the others were going to follow.

  
Scott and the others stood there in astonishment for a split second, before racing after the surprisingly fast human.

  
Just like when they first went into the preserve, Stiles was back to running his hands through tree trunks, but was doing so with rapid speed this time. Abruptly turning this way and that as he followed a seemingly invisible path that only he knew.

  
The wolves were about to suggest if one of them should carry Stiles, seeing that werewolves were way faster than humans and running at this speed was not fast enough to flee from vampires, but they were interrupted by Stiles.

  
“Before you say something,” Stiles huffed. “keep my pace if you want to live. You may be faster, but I know this place like the back of my hand. I have many tricks up my sleeves.”

  
Before anyone could argue, the wolves picked up the sound of twigs snapping far away, but not far enough. It wouldn’t be long before they would be caught.

  
“When I yell ‘Quack’, you guys better fucking duck and slide,” Stiles whispered while panting. “and make sure to do it fast.”

  
The pack was confused by the odd request, but were too busy worrying about the vicious vampires after them to say anything.

  
Soon, Stiles hollered ‘Quack’ really loud that it echoed around the area, and the pack was ready to yell at him for being an idiot because the vampires now knew exactly where they were. Stiles was ready to counter, saying said vampires were really close now so it wouldn’t matter, but he noticed the pack had forgotten about his request. And since the pack forgot to do as Stiles had asked, he forcefully pushed them down as he simultaneously pulled on some thin rope that seemed to be attached to one of the trees. It was too dark to see what the rope led to, but they all heard what seemed to be arrows, glide to though the air and lodge themselves in the trunk of the tree they had been in front of right before Stiles pushed them out of the way.

  
Then suddenly, there was the sound of slicing and something running into other things. The smell of blood instantly hit their noses. The smell of death was also present.

  
Everyone quickly got back to their feet, and as much as Stiles told them that they needed to keep going, the pack didn’t listen and decided to turn around to look at what happened.

  
What they saw, only the wolves could see the clearest.

  
There were chunks of body parts scattered around, and blood was everywhere. Some of the body parts were twitching as if they were still alive.

  
This was what was left of the two or three vampires that had caught up to them. The reason for their demise could almost go unnoticed. The only reason the wolves saw it was because of the glistening blood on it.

  
The cause of death was wire. Very thin wire.

  
It was like the kind in those action movies that could easily slice through anything. The sound they had heard when Stiles pushed them out of the way, had in fact been arrows flying through the air. Stiles most likely set off some sort of trigger that sent six arrows soaring until they made impact with the tree. They were evenly spaced and went in a vertical column as they hit their target.

  
At the end of each arrow, was a strand of the thin wire attached. The whole thing was perfectly calculated so that when the trap was triggered and the arrows were shot, the wire would stretch to its full length and make a tight line. The wire was placed perfectly in a part of the woods where the moonlight wouldn’t hit it so well, causing it to not shine so much and to go unnoticed when someone passed by. At the rate the vampires were running, it was no wonder they didn’t see it coming.

  
Scott and the others instantly thought back to the nogitsune and the traps he had set in the woods, the pack was glad the fox spirit hadn’t used this particular trap.

  
They were snapped out of their bad memories when they thought they heard a twig snap not that far away. That and the fact that Stiles was no longer with them.

  
They vaguely remember him saying not to get involved no matter what they heard, but that was around the same time the pack ignored his other words in favor of looking at the deadly wire trap.

  
Close by, Scott and the two Hales could hear voices. One of them belonging to Stiles.

  
They followed the voices and looked down from the tall hill they were on. At least four hundred feet away from them, in a small clearing, was Stiles. Surrounded by the three surviving members of the vampire clan (besides the five left trapped in a circle of mountain ash).

  
Scott made a move to go help the teen, but Peter put his arm in front of him to hold him back.

  
“He told us not to get involved no matter what,” the older wolf whispered.

  
“But-”

  
“I think he is more than capable of protecting himself. You should too by now.”

  
Reluctantly, they all watched from their spot hidden from view, as Stiles slowly took a few steps back and lured the vampires closer to him. They could hear all the taunts the vampires threw at Stiles, telling him that he nowhere to run anymore and that there was no one to save him.

  
“The little human is out of tricks,” one vampire could be heard saying as they circled around Stiles. “Without your little mutt friends, you don’t stand a chance. Hehe, we will enjoy tearing you apart, boy.”

  
“Aw, thanks for all the comments of confidence, you guys. You should be motivational speakers.” Stiles said with a grin. “But you should have learned by now…don’t underestimate me. And BTW, those mutts aren’t my friends."

  
Taking one more step backwards, Stiles felt a tree trunk touching his back. Instead of thinking he was trapped, his grin grew bigger. He pulled on a trip wire that was by the tree, and the pack knew it was another one of his deadly traps. Though they didn’t know what it would be.

  
In a blink of an eye, Stiles ducked, there was the slight sound of triggers, and at least a dozen of objects swished through the air and lodged themselves into the vampires’ chests.

  
Not a moment later, all three vampires dropped to the ground dead. Arrows through their hearts.

  
“Oh yeah, what now bitches,” Stiles snarked as he made his way around the bodies.

  
He didn’t make it too far, before he too collapsed on the ground.

  
“Stiles!!!”Scott hollered as the pack rushed to his side.

  
Once they got to him, they realized that he had deep claw marks on his side. There was a lot of blood, and Stiles seemed to be barely conscious. He would die soon if they couldn’t get him to a hospital in time.

  
“How did this happen?! We didn’t see them actually inflict damage on him once!” Scott yelled in panic.

  
“Couldn’t you smell the blood earlier? Our escape didn’t go as…smoothly as I’d hope,” Stiles weakly chuckled. “Man, you’re a pathetic Alpha, puppy. I’ve been bleeding for a while now.”

  
“We need to get him to a hospital!” Derek growled as he picked up Stiles, bridal style.

  
“No, no hospital” Stiles whispered as he weakly pointed down a path marked with stars on the trees. “Take me to Luca. He’ll know what to do…Just follow this path.”

  
“No Stiles! We are not going deeper into the woods! You’re bleeding out! You need medical attention!” Derek yelled at him.

  
“He’s not going to make it to a hospital. You know that, nephew. You can feel it, can’t you?” Peter whispered, trying to calm Derek down.

  
“But-”

  
Everyone could see it in Derek’s eyes that he really hated losing people, and losing Stiles was out of the question.

  
“I could bite him!” Scott suggested. “If he turns into a werewolf, he could heal.”

  
“Just take me home, take me to Luca”, Stiles mumbled. “If you bite me, I’ll kill you.”

  
He then looked at Lydia, straight into her eyes. Secretly begging she would agree with his request.

  
Everything logical was telling Lydia that Stiles was being absurd and that taking the Bite was their best bet, but something about the way Stiles looked at her, made her feel that he knew what he was doing. It was the most ridiculous feeling ever, but her gut was telling her to trust Stiles.

  
“This will sound crazy, but let’s follow the path. I trust Stiles’s judgment,” she said to the others.

  
“Stiles’s judgment? You know he has about zero self-preservation skills in him!” Derek growled at her, only to instantly shut up when she gave him the glare of death.

  
“Hello, person dying over here”, Stiles grumbled, his skin getting paler by the second.

  
That got the pack to reluctantly agree with the dying teen’s stupid idea. They quickly took off running with werewolf speed this time. Lydia being carried by Scott because she refused to be near Peter.

  
In no time, they reached the end of the path, but there was nothing. The woods continued on. No buildings in sight. Not even tents.

  
Dread quickly made it into everyone’s hearts, thinking they had made the wrong decision. Stiles didn’t seem to be worried though, but that might have been because of the extreme blood loss.

  
“Luca!” Stiles started to call out.

  
Nothing happened. The woods remained quiet.

  
“Luca!” he called again.

  
In a blink of an eye, a form with the same speed as the vampires from earlier, appeared before them. The smell of flowers and decay followed. It wasn’t horrible as when they first encountered the smell, but it still smelled like death. Like nothing. Like emptiness.

  
The form that appeared before them was a young man in a dark blue hoodie, who looked to be in his early twenties. Right behind him other people appeared as well. The pack instantly started growling at the sudden arrivals, and took a defensive step around Stiles.

  
“Stop growling, you morons”, Stiles whispered.

  
The first vampire instantly turned at the bleeding Stiles in Derek’s arms, and his eyes widened.

  
“Stiles!” he yelled as he rapidly prepared to attack the pack, his fangs and claws already out.

  
Derek, being distracted by the possible threat, was caught off guard when Stiles decided to slip out of his arms. And as soon as the teen did, the vampire was wrapped around him in what seemed to be a hug. The other vampires took that moment to surround the pack.

  
“Don’t you dare hurt him!” Scott and the others growled.

  
The vampire didn’t answer, instead he quickly bit into his wrist hard enough to cause himself to bleed. He then raised his wrist to Stiles’s mouth. Stiles didn’t even hesitate to put his mouth to the guy’s wrist, and to the pack’s horror, started to suck the blood.

  
As he did, the pack noticed that Sties was quickly regaining some of his color. And right in front of their eyes, he seemed to be healing completely.

  
All the cuts and bruises that lined Stiles’s face were almost instantly fading away. Before long, even the black eye was gone, and his face was blemish free (well, except for all the moles that he had).

  
“Better?” the vampire asked Stiles.

  
“You betcha!” Stiles grinned, as he practically jumped up to stand. He looked completely healthy, and seemed to be full of energy. It was as if he had never gotten hurt in the first place. The only indications that the human had ever been injured were the claw shaped holes in his shirt, and the blood that coated it.

  
The vampires sighed in what appeared to be relief, and quickly turned to growl at the pack.

  
“Who are these people?” the vampire who gave Stiles blood hissed, standing defensively around Stiles.

  
“Chill Luca. They came to see Iris,” Stiles explained. “We were attacked by a rogue clan on the way here, and as you noticed, I got hurt during the encounter. And before you ask, yes the rogues are dead. I lead some of them through the course of booby traps we set around the woods. There are still a handful of them trapped in a ring of mountain ash. Those were left alive, but I doubt they will be a problem. I noticed that none of them had daylight rings, so come sunrise they will all be turned to ash. There won’t be a need to get rid of any bodies, the sun will take care of it for us. Though it wouldn’t hurt to send a group to check anyways.”

  
Luca looked as if he wanted to ask so many questions, but one look from Stiles and he quickly shut his mouth with a disappointed frown.

  
That didn’t stop him for long however, because a minute later, he was blurting out questions too fast for anyone to understand while flailing his arms in the air.

  
“I’ll explain better when we get home,” Stiles sighed.

  
“You better, mister”, Luca said with a smirk. The smirk instantly reminded the pack of how their Stiles would always smile when he would repo any fast food his dad had and replace it with something healthy. “Oh, and you better take off that hoodie…and most likely the shirt you have underneath. There’s blood all over it, and you know how the Family will act if they find out you got hurt.”

  
Looking at Stiles’s mess of a hoodie, Luca unzipped his own hoodie and threw it at Stiles.

  
Stiles looked at his own clothes as if he had forgotten its horrid condition, before giving Luca a shrug.

  
“I guess you’re right. They worry too much about me,” he said as he causally took the grey hoodie off and then proceeded to do the same with his t-shirt.

  
As soon as he did, several black lines became visible, running throughout his back.

  
Tattoos. The black lines forming different symbols in a tribal style design.

  
The pack couldn’t recognize what any of the symbols stood for, but then again, they were too busy mainly focusing on the fact that Stiles had tattoos. Stiles, the guy who hated needles.

  
“Woah! You have so many tattoos!” Scott exclaimed in shock.

  
Stiles turned to the pack and gave them a smirk.

  
“Like what you see?” he asked as he puffed up his chest a little.

  
Derek mentally took back what he said about Stiles being scrawny because even though he still had a lean figure, this Stiles had some muscle to him. Maybe their Stiles had some as well, but it was hard tell with all the layers of clothes he was always wearing.

  
Just as they continued to look at him, Stiles flexed his muscles and sent a wink towards the pack. Lydia seemed flustered by his antics. There was even signs of her face starting to blush.

  
“Put that hoodie on already, Casanova”, she said, trying to look anywhere but at Stiles.

  
“Aw, what’s a matter, Red? You don’t want anyone else besides you to see all of this?” Stiles cooed, gesturing to himself. “You’re right, these puppies over here might get self-esteem issues after checking out a bod as fine as mine.”

  
He then proceeded to give them a little show while putting on Luca’s blue hoodie. Taking his time zipping it up. Derek could have sworn that Stiles even flexed a peck while he was doing so.

  
One thing was for sure, this Stiles felt very confident about his body.

  
Finally, after what seemed hours, Stiles stopped his weird antics and started to walk forward again, following close to Luca.

  
The vampire as it turned out, wasn’t as scary as the pack thought he would be. He was nothing like the vampires they had run into earlier. He was very clumsy and goofy. In fact, as he turned to lead the way to where ever they were going, his foot tripped over a tree root, and he face planted into the dirt. Assuring the pack a little that there really was not much to worry about this dorky vampire.

  
“So much for you being a scary creature of the night,” Stiles chuckled as he helped him up. “How are you even a vampire?”

  
“Shut up, Sty. I can be scary if I want to,” Luca pouted, walking ahead to hide his embarrassment.

  
The pack was starting to doubt that he could be scary. Though there was always the fact that he still needed blood to survive that made them continue to be a bit wary of him and the other vampires around them.

  
Much to the pack’s shock, Luca vanished into thin air when he took a few more steps further. And it wasn’t because he used his vampire speed, none of the wolves could smell him anymore. His scent just seemed to stop cold where he disappeared.

  
Stiles just gave them a smirk when he saw that they were sniffing around in confusion.

  
“Relax, puppies. Haven’t you ever heard of glamor?”

  
The response was two sets of confused eyes. At least Lydia and Peter looked like they knew what he was talking about, so Stiles thought they weren’t as hopeless as the other two.

  
“Glamor. You know, magic spells that hide stuff. You guys seriously need to do more research if you want to do well in the supernatural world. Right now, you’re slacking.”

  
With that, Stiles too, disappeared from sight. Leaving the pack seemingly alone with a bunch of unknown vampires. But a moment later, they also went through the glamor and they couldn’t help but to stop and stare at what they saw.

  
What they thought was just more endless woods before, had now been revealed to be a whole house and a sort of campsite. A huge house by the way, almost the size of what the Hale House used to be. And there were two smaller houses beside it. People were walking all over the place. Many sitting around a large campfire. Others rocking on rocking chairs by the main house’s porch. Kids were running around playing. Everyone looked happy. The whole scene said family.

  
Many people started to stare at the McCall-Hale Pack as soon as they stepped through the glamor. The pack could smell the tension. There were many flashes of different colored glowing eyes going around that let the pack know they were dealing with supernatural beings. All the tension seemed to fade away as soon as Stiles approached the pack however. It was as if seeing that the human wasn’t afraid of being around them meant they were not a threat. Scott and the Hales could smell how relaxed everyone became once they saw that Stiles was around. The pack didn’t know what to think of it. Everyone had an aurora of respect and love for the teen, but how could that be? Stiles was only a human. Could a human really gain that much respect? Scott would have thought fear would have been among the emotions, due to the fact that Stiles had killed more than a handful of vampires, but all he saw was admiration.

  
Another thing that confused the pack was that Deaton had told them that Stiles didn’t really have friends, but apparently there were at least fifty people here that were very happy to see Stiles alive and well.  
“I take it you’re not used to seeing many people since your own pack is small and all,” Stiles said, snapping them out of their musings.

  
“Are they all-” Derek started to ask.

  
“Vampires? Nah. We have many different types of supernatural peeps hanging around here. If it was only made up of vamps, it would be called a clan. If it was werewolves, it would be a pack. Werecats would be a streak. Etc,etc. You get the point. But this is a mixed community so there really is no real name for it. We have just come to call it a Family.”

  
“How can they all get along? Fights must break out often?” Peter asked, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.

  
“Nah, there hardly are any fights. Everyone gets along very well. They all bring something different to the Family and therefore, make it better and stronger. It’s like a close-knit society,” Stiles explained causally. “You know, my tattoos are actually the symbols of all the different groups of supernatural creatures that make up this family. I’m like a walking peace treaty, which is funny because peace and I are like antonyms.”

  
“What if one group decides to leave or betray you guys?” Lydia huffed, as if ashamed of Stiles’ life choices. “You’ll have permanent reminders of them on your skin.”

  
Stiles gave her a grin that didn’t really reach his eyes. The pack could instantly tell he would rather be anywhere else than with them, and sadly, they were starting to get used to not being so close to their friend’s lookalike. It was times like these that made them want to be back in their world.

  
“Your confidence in my decisions offends me, Princess.” Stiles teased, faking being offended. “I personally helped build this community. If a certain group gave me bad vibes, I would make my opinion known, and they wouldn’t be allowed to join. And believe me when I say that I am a good judge of character, I have proved myself many times.”

  
Scott’s mind instantly thought back to Stiles not liking Theo. Stiles had warned him back then, but he hadn’t listened. But just hearing this Stiles say to believe him, brought Scott bad memories of that night in the rain. He didn’t think he could ever trust Stiles like he had before.

  
His deep thoughts were cut off by Stiles starting to walk away.

  
“As for the tattoos,” Stiles started saying as he walked on. “They are made with magic, and they can be easily removed if needed. I don’t trust anyone completely, so I’m always expecting to be let down at some point. A person like me sees things others don’t want to see; therefore, I’m prepared to face reality…The question is, are you?”

  
There was a certain coldness to the way Stiles stared back at them, as if he was silently judging them and being disappointed in what he saw. At the same time, it was as if he already knew everything he wanted to know about them, and found them very lacking in certain areas.

  
The pack didn’t like this Stiles. He was so different from their version. This one seemed to be oozing apathy and indifference, especially towards the pack. It made them wonder if maybe their own Stiles harbored unconcern for others. Maybe he had been faking all this time, making the pack think he cared about them. Maybe his anger when being kicked out of the pack wasn’t due to losing his friends, but because he would no longer be able to mess with them.

  
Lydia didn’t really believe that was the case, but Scott sort of did. He didn’t know what to believe about his so called best friend anymore. Ever since finding out about Donovan, all Scott could think about was the nogitsune saying ‘You should never trust a fox. They’ll trick you’. Scott had wanted time away from Stiles for a while so he could think and make the best decision he could make as a leader. He had a pack that looked up to him now. He had to do what was best for them, even if it meant possibly losing his best friend.

  
Derek simply didn’t like this Stiles because the teen seemed to find them pathetic, and that didn’t settle well with Derek’s pride. He knew their pack was nothing close to what a decent pack should be, even less close to being like how the Hale pack used to be before the fire, but he hated to be reminded about it. He had tried to scare this Stiles into submission just as he had tried with their world’s Stiles, but apparently every version of the teen was very stubborn and would possibly never back down from anything. At least ~~his~~ their Stiles had some fear towards him which made Derek’s wolf gain a slight confidence boost, even if it was a small victory. This Stiles didn’t even offer that, instead, this one made Derek a bit scared. The thing that bugged him about this Stiles was that this one lacked fear.

  
This Stiles didn’t fear going against a pack of werewolves with only a knife and some magical powder as weapons. This one didn’t fear bleeding out to death. And Derek was starting to question whether this Stiles had any fear when he faced off against the rogue vampires, or if his heart had beat rapidly due to adrenaline and excitement towards the prospect of battle.

  
Peter had always seen potential in Stiles even if the teen was just human, this version showed more potential…though this one was leaning towards being an impending threat. The werewolf’s mind thought of all the wonderful possibilities that could have happened if he had bit Stiles instead…or what could happen if he got this Stiles to stand by his side.

  
“Well, we’re here”, Stiles said as they arrived in front of a small hippie-like hut. After telling the pack to wait outside, Stiles walked through the garland of colorful beads that acted as the hut’s door, putting on a cheerful smile as he went to greet the person inside. “Hiya Iris. What’s shakin’ bacon?”

  
A groan could be heard from the inside.

  
“Fuck off, Sty. If you’re here to make more of your stupid Harry Potter references, I’ll give you a fur coat and tail again”, a young woman’s voice threatened.

  
Stiles slightly recoiled, but instantly went back to being all chipper again.

  
“Aw, don’t be that way, sugar. There’s a pack of werewolves that wants to talk to you. They’ve traveled a long distance to get here…a really, really long distance if I might add.” Stiles said nicely. It caught the pack off guard by how sweet he was acting at the moment.

  
When there was no response from Iris, he added, “And when I mean far, I mean different universe type of far.”

  
The wolves could smell the young woman’s annoyance turn into curiosity a moment after Stiles mentioned their travel across universes.

  
“Fine,” they heard Iris say simply, trying to play off her interest. “But you’ll wait outside. I’m not in the mood to deal with your annoyingness at the moment.”

  
“Whatever you say, Miss Granger”, Stiles answered in a flirting tone.

  
A second later there was a slapping sound, and the pack heard Stiles give a little yelp of surprise and pain.

  
“Ten points for Gryffindor,” Stiles grumbled as he made his way back outside.

  
When the pack saw him exit the hut, they saw that his right cheek was red and there was brighter red handprint on it.

  
The teen simply shrugged at them with a small smile. “I deserved it…Anyway, she’s ready to see you. Don’t worry, she doesn’t bite…though she sure does love her spells.”

  
He then started walking away towards the big house, leaving the pack to face the witch on their own.

  
They were a bit hesitant to enter the hut, but they eventually did when Iris called to them to stop being wimps and get inside already.

  
Once they entered, they were met with many interesting sights. The hut was way bigger inside than it appeared to be on the outside. Lydia herself was tempted to make a Harry Potter reference, but refrained from doing so when other curiosities caught her eye. There were all sorts of glass bottles and wooden boxes all over the place. Many of the bottles containing colorful liquids in them, while others had different types of powder. Various plants and herbs took up space around the hut, some hanging from the ceiling while others occupied small tables that were randomly placed here and there. Several bookshelves lined the walls, all of which contained old leather bond books. Lydia wanted nothing more than to look through them at the moment.

  
“Hello. Curious bunch, aren’t you?” a voice asked. The pack had forgotten there was someone else in the hut with them, and they all gave a jump of surprise. “I apologize for making a minor scene while you waited outside for me. That asshole, Stilinski, and I used to date. I’ll admit that I still hold a small grudge against him…though, I should have known better. Stiles is known to be a heartbreaker, among other things.”

  
Turning to the source of the voice, they came face to face with a young woman, who seemed to be around Scott’s and Lydia’s age, sitting on a yoga mat. Her posture seemed calm and relaxed as she sat crisscrossed with her eyes closed.

  
She was a very beautiful girl with chocolate toned skin and freckles sprinkled on her cheeks to complement it. Her eyes were shown to be a green hue once she opened them and had golden specks that looked like hundreds of tiny stars. Even though she looked quite young, it was her eyes and the way she carried herself that let the pack know she held much knowledge. Just by the confidence in her voice and her movements, Scott and the others knew she was a fierce young woman whom they shouldn’t get on the bad side of.

  
“I hear you’re from another universe. That itself is very interesting,” Iris said, mainly musing to herself.

  
“So, do you know how to send us back?” Lydia asked, quietly admiring the young witch’s sense of fashion.

  
“That depends, do you know why you are here? Or who sent you here?”

  
“We think it’s because we made an accidental wish…well really, it was Scott, but we got dragged along with him. We don’t know who or what brought us here though.”

  
Iris hummed as she thought.

  
“What was your wish, if I may ask?”

  
Scott looked down at the ground while he answered.

  
“I wished we hadn’t ever met Stiles, and somehow we ended in a reality where we never did”, the young Alpha said with shame.

  
The witch suppressed a giggle.

  
“Is he an asshole in your world as well?” she asked with a small smile.

  
“Sometimes”, Scott answered sheepishly.

  
Derek gave a little nod, and Peter just smiled. Lydia shrugged.

  
“We had a fight because he did something really bad,” Scott started to explain. “I told him he wasn’t part of our pack anymore, and he got angry. At one point, I just snapped at him and blurted out my wish. When we woke up this morning, we were here.”

  
“Ha, Stiles actually being part of a pack is kind of hard for me to believe…perhaps that’s why you’re here. To learn something from this world, and take that new knowledge back to your world. Perhaps how not having Stiles around is either a good thing or a bad thing. Seeing how the world is different without a certain person around in their lives is usually one of the lessons unknown beings try to show people…Well, at least that’s what I’ve seen happen in movies.”

  
“Why do you find it hard to believe that our Stiles was in a pack?” Peter questioned. “Here he has a whole family of supernatural creatures.”

  
Iris didn’t answer the question, instead she spoke her own musings.

  
“Perhaps the lesson isn’t the only thing you are here for,” she said, looking up at the pack. “What if you guys are here to fix something? You know, the whole ‘If the ley lines you should follow’ crap.”

  
“What could there possibly be here to fix?” Derek huffed. “Everything seems much better off here than in our own world. Your pack…I mean Family, is bigger than ours could ever hope to be.”

  
Iris got up from her mat with a somber smile and told the others to follow her outside.

  
“Look around, and tell me what you see”, Iris said as they looked upon the people who were enjoying themselves around the woods with friends and family.

  
The pack took a look around, not really getting what the witch was implying.

  
“Um, a big, strong pack that is enjoying itself in the nightlife,” Scott started to answer. “They are definitely more united than our pack is at the moment, and it shows. They all look happy and don’t seem to have a care in the world…we haven’t had something like this in a long time…if ever.”

  
The rest of the pack nodded in agreement with their Alpha.

  
“True, but you are wrong about _everyone_ being happy and united…There is one who doesn’t let himself belong”, Iris said in a whispered tone, sounding almost sad. “He who could be anything, yet chooses to be nothing.”

  
Scott and the others followed Iris’s gaze towards the crowd of happy people. After a couple minutes of searching for whoever stood out in the witch’s eyes, they finally saw it.

  
Among all the happy people, there was one face they couldn’t see.

  
No amber eyes gleaming with glee. No impish grins catching their attention.

  
Stiles was not there.

  
“Stiles”, Scott whispered, looking a bit disappointed in himself for not noticing earlier. “Where-”

  
“He is over there, sitting on a tree by the edge of the territory,” Iris interrupted quietly.

  
And sure enough, when they all turned to look in that direction, Scott and the others saw the human teen sitting on a high branch of a pine tree. Wearing the bored expression the pack had been starting to get used to, and listening to his iPod. Leaning against the tree trunk, he looked as if he had no care in the world. As if balancing high on a tree wasn’t such a big feat.

  
“But-”

  
“He technically isn’t part of the Family. Everyone thinks of him as part of it, but Stiles himself doesn’t. He separates himself from everyone most of the time. People have tried to get close to him, but he doesn’t really pay them much attention, so everyone just knows to give him his space until he wants to make a move and socialize.”

  
“Our Stiles loves to talk,” Lydia started to say. “How can this one manage to stay quiet for so long? Ours wouldn’t be able to contain himself for long.”

  
Iris started walking back to her hut, signaling that their talk together was now over. She did however, say one last thing before the pack started to walk away.

  
“Sometimes, the brightest things fade the fastest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter/ the last thing Iris says, comes from the song "Back to Earth" by Steve Akoi ft. Fall Out Boy
> 
> *Due to the way I ended up planning this fic and realizing it would no long fit in the category, it will no longer be part of The Secret series once I post the next chapter (whenever that may be). It will just be it's own thing.


	3. Poisoned Youth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup guys!  
> Sorry for the long wait, I don't have much writing time (even less than usual due to a bunch of projects and Finals coming up). As I have said before, I can't make promises of when I'm able to update, but I'll try to post sooner.
> 
> Anyways, Stiles doesn't really interact with the pack that much in this chapter. This one is more about the pack meeting some of the other characters that interact with Stiles, and how the pack realizes this Stiles can be nice (though it's not towards them).
> 
> Also, I wanted to let you guys know that if dashes " - " appear when a character is speaking, that is something the character is saying and not me. If I put a random comment of mine somewhere in the story, it will appear as [* comment *].
> 
> I hope you like it and please tell me what you think. And please tell if any grammar errors or plot holes appear, I'll try to fix them asap. :)

**_“Sometimes, the brightest fade the fastest.”_ **

Those words played again and again in the pack’s minds as they sat on some logs by the large campfire.

All around them people laughed and played, but all they could focus on was the one antisocial teen who was still up in a tree.

They couldn’t really believe that Stiles would ever not be talkative around people, and yet in this world here he was, avoiding people like the plague.

“So, what do you think about this place? Nice right?”, a voice asked, distracting the pack from their deep thinking.

Luca made his way towards them with a goofy smile and sat on the log next to Scott.

When they had first met the vampire, they hadn’t really paid attention to how he looked. They were too busy focusing on a bleeding Stiles and the fact that vampires were a thing.

Now seeing him up close, the pack saw that the vampire had a similar build to Stiles, if not leaner. His eyes were a honey brown when they weren’t glowing that pinkish red color that they had when Luca vamped out. He had dark brown hair that was styled so messy that it looked like Luca had just gotten out of bed, and had somewhat pale skin, though the pack assumed that it was because he was a vampire.

Realizing that the pack was too caught up analyzing him and weren’t going to answer his question, he tried a different approach as a conversation starter.

“In case you’re wondering, I don’t sparkle in sunlight like those stupid Twilight vamps.”

Scott and Lydia gave a little blush at being caught staring, while the two Hales simply gave a huff.

“And before you ask how old I actually am, I’m twenty-three. I know, not very exciting if you were expecting me to be a hundred years or something,” Luca chuckled. “I was turned about two or three years ago, so I guess I look to be a twenty year old.”

He could see that the pack was now a little eager to ease their curiosity and ask questions, so he gave them an encouraging smile.

“You can ask me any questions if you’d like, I don’t bite…um, much”, he teased. “Ha-ha. Sorry, that was a cheesy joke.”

The pack rolled their eyes in agreement.

“How exactly is it that you got turned?”, Lydia asked.

“I…um, died with vampire blood in my system,” Luca answered sheepishly. “I never found out how I ended up drinking vampire blood or who the vampire was, so let me just tell you that my first week was really scary. I was freaking out by what the hell was happening to me and I had no one to explain, but luckily, I ran into some other vamps who helped me out before I went on a killing spree. I told my parents, hoping that they would understand my new nature….but, in the end, they couldn’t accept the thing I had become, so I left town and never looked back. True to its name, I was drawn to this town as if it were a beacon, and I have been here ever since.”

“So wait, if you die with vampire blood in your body, you come back as a vampire?” Scott asked, a bit of worry on his face. “So what’s going to happen to Stiles? You gave him some of your blood.”

“He’ll be fine. It’ll be out of his system in twenty-four hours…not that it’s realistically going to happen. We all care too much for Stiles to let him die on us. We usually give him some, so we can feel better knowing that if something were to happen –not that we wish anything to happen, but living in the world of the supernatural is unpredictable- we wouldn’t lose Stiles.”

“So tonight, if Stiles would have died, he would have come back as a bloodsucker?” Peter mused.

“Yes, he already had vamp blood before I gave him more, though the blood was almost out of his system. That’s why he refused to let you bite him, Alpha”, the vampire said, looking at Scott. “The Bite would have just fought against the vampire blood, and he would most likely not have made it. The two fighting forces would have diminished his chances of surviving or coming back to life.”

“How has Stiles remained human all this time with all sorts of supernatural creatures around him?” Lydia questioned. “How has he not gotten turned into something already?”

“Stiles wants to remain human for as long as possible. I think it has something to do with pride and enjoying the shocked look on people’s faces when they realize the mistake they made by underestimating him just because he’s human. Everyone loves him and respects his wishes, so no one would ever force him to turn against his will.”

There it was again, respect and love. The two things that the pack saw in everyone’s eyes when Stiles walked into the settlement earlier tonight. The pack really wanted to know what that was all about.

“Why do you all of you guys have so much respect towards a human?” Scott blurted out, not really thinking about what he had just said.

The sudden glowing red eyes accompanied by growling directed at him, made Scott and the others give a little jump of fright.

“What exactly are you implying by that, _Puppy_?” a young woman hissed in a very low voice, so that the rest of the Family wouldn’t hear. The pack didn’t even see her coming until she was already standing right into of them, glaring and posed to attack. Her demeanor very different and aggressive compared to Luca’s calm behavior, though he also seemed to be upset by Scott’s question.

Scott thought back to what he could have said that could have pissed off the vampires, and once he did, his eyes went wide with realization.

“I didn’t mean it that way!” Scott tried to apologize. “I just-”

“You just what? Thought it was impossible for supernatural creatures to see a human as an equal? Do you see yourself better than him just because of what you are?” the girl vampire huffed, flicking her dark brown hair to the side. “If so you, you still have a lot to learn, _Puppy_?”

“Cara, please clam down”, Luca warned calmly.

“Zip it, Luca. If you’re not going to defend Stiles, then I will”, she growled back, her tanned fingers clawing into the tree trunk near her.

Luca looked like he was ready to protest, but one glare from Cara and he stayed quiet, not wanting the angry vampire’s attention on him.

Scott wasn’t liking the tone the vampire was using on him. His wolf didn’t like someone going against him. It especially hurt his pride being called a puppy. It was bad enough this Stiles was already calling him that, but he didn’t want to also hear that from other people.

“I used to be human too, you know!” the young alpha growled. “I still remember what it was like, and don’t see myself as better than him!”

“Except that you do,” Cara interrupted. Her eyes turning back to their human color which was greenish-blue, as if thinking the pack wasn’t worth her shifted look. “You may believe your own lies to the point that you no longer see them as lies, and that is why your heart doesn’t skip a beat, but they’re still lies. You feel powerful and confident because of your werewolf status, and even more so because you’re an Alpha…but let me tell you something. That is worth shit if you don’t prove yourself worthy. I highly doubt your friends would be so nice and respectful of you if you didn’t have your physical strength. Or do you have anything else to offer that would make them want to stay by your side?”

Peter was quick to respond with a “nope”.

Scott was unsurprised by the older wolf’s response, but he had hoped his other two pack mates would have backed him up. They remained silent a little longer than he had liked, and he didn’t know he was holding his breath until Derek spoke.

“Scott does his best to save people and will always _try_ to do what is right. I think those are good qualities. He’s a better Alpha than I was, though he still has a lot to learn. He is also a True Alpha, so that is saying something.”

Cara didn’t even try to suppress a dry chuckle.

“Gee, I’d hate to think of how your Alpha days were…though I understand that it is hard having so much responsibility on your hands. It can be stressful from what I’ve heard…As for the ‘True Alpha’ thing, is that supposed to automatically win this argument? If so, that’s complete bullshit… or wolf shit in this case.”

The vampire then turned to look Scott straight in the eyes.

“The strength of a pack doesn’t solely revolve around the strength of the Alpha, and your strength isn’t solely your own. _For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack._ [* I just saw The Jungle Book two days ago and this part stuck in my head *] You need your pack just as much as they need you. You’re supposed to be each other’s crutches, and quite frankly, your pack doesn’t seem so well balanced and stable to me. So, you guys bring up that ‘True Alpha’ shit like it’s supposed to convince us to listen to you without hesitation. Nah, dude. That shit don’t fly around here. You gotta earn respect - which props to you, you somehow managed to do so in order to gain your ‘True Alpha’ status.- Maybe at the time, you were truly worthy. The thing about respect though, is that you gotta constantly be earning it. Just because you already earned it once doesn’t mean you automatically have respect for life. No, that’s not how it works. It would be like saying just because you told the truth once, you can lie the rest of the time.”

Before anyone could say something or argue against her, Cara stormed off towards the main house, leaving almost as quickly as she had appeared.

“Sorry about that, Cara gets very protective over Stiles. And trust me when I say you don’t want to get on her bad side. She can be really brash and aggressive…if you couldn’t tell. If you mess with her, you basically have to deal with Stiles as well. The thing goes both ways, so I would watch out if I were you”, Luca sighed. “Though she did have a point about treating humans like equals. They are very capable, and at times more dangerous than the rest of us.”

“Who was that?” Lydia questioned, still looking in the direction the other vampire had disappeared to.

“That was Cara. She is Stiles’ gir…she’s his…they’re something…”, Luca paused for a bit, seeming to be in deep thought.

“Quite frankly, I don’t know what they are,” he ended up saying with a shrug. “They don’t really call themselves girlfriend and boyfriend, but that’s what they seem like to some people…Though they have a tendency of sleeping around with other people, so IDK…I suppose they’re friends with benefits?”

The look on Luca’s face told the pack that he really didn’t know what to think of the pair, but they were more focused on the fact that Stiles was with a fierce girl like Cara. Then again, in their world, he had been with Malia, so maybe Stiles had a thing for the dangerous type.

“How did they even meet?” Scott asked.

“Well, Cara rolled into town one day about a year ago, wanting to get away from her past. And sure she caused a bit of mayhem around Beacon Hills for a while, as a way to cope and let out her anger on the world, but then she ran into local bad boy Stilinski, and things just clicked together. She tried to press Stiles’ buttons at first, but of course, Stiles being Stiles, he pushed back. They quickly saw eye to eye and decided to be, um, whatever it is that they are right now.”

“From what you say, this girl sounds unstable. How can you trust her to be around Stiles?” Derek grumbled.

Luca gave a little chuckle.

“Who am I to say who should be with who? None of us are perfectly fine, or sane for that matter. We all have problems, we all have issues. We’ve all have had to face demons…some of us literally. But what else you could you expect from the poisoned youth.”

The vampire looked at the sky with a distant look for a long time, and the pack could only wonder what exactly these people had faced in the past.

“I do trust her to be with him”, he finally said. “In fact, she one of the few people I completely trust to be with him. Cara may be a little problematic and feisty, but so is Stiles. She’s the vampire who has trouble keeping her humanity, and he’s the human with way too many anger issues. They’re both damaged in their own ways, but somehow together they’re okay. Two broken pieces making a whole.”

“That was really deep”, Peter teased.

“Thanks, I try”, Luca smirked in return. It reminded the pack of their Stiles and his constant banter with the older Hale.

Peter smiled at the vampire and thought for a moment before contributing to the conversation again.

“You know little vamp, out of all the other people, you’re the only who is willing to talk to us. The only who has been friendly really, and though we have asked you several questions, I feel as if we haven’t asked the more important ones. Like for example, why everyone else is ignoring our pack, and who are you exactly? Are you the Alpha or leader of this pack/family?”

The other members of the McCall pack nodded their heads in agreement.

“My, my. Well aren’t you a good observer, Mr. Hale” the young vampire responded. “Sorry if I disappoint you, but I’m not the leader of our Family. I, Luca Carter, simply serve as a sort of second in command alongside my cousin, though I only do it for the vampire side of the Family. Each species has its own representors, even though we are all one giant pack technically…As for why everyone else is ignoring you guys, it’s because you’re basically strangers and it will take some time before they’re comfortable enough talking with you. It also has a little to do with the fact that Stiles doesn’t really like your pack at the moment.”

“So one person’s opinion makes up everyone else’s mind?” Scott asked, thinking the whole notion was absurd.

Lydia gave her Alpha a glare.

“Now, you’re being a hypocrite, Scott”, she plainly stated. “Must I remind you of Theo and how you easily went along with what he said?”

The young Alpha turned towards her in shock with such speed that if he had been human, he would have gotten whiplash.

“That was different, what he said was true! There was proof!”

Lydia just looked at her nails, not caring what Scott had to say. They had had similar conversations many times before, and no matter what Lydia had said to try to reason with Scott, the young Alpha was either too stubborn or stupid to listen. If he didn’t listen to her, why should she listen to him?

Before anyone could say anything else about the matter, the voices of children and a certain teenager could be heard nearby.

The pack turned towards the direction of the voices and saw Stiles still sitting in the tree, except that there was now at least ten little kids surrounding the tree trunk. Two of them with plates in their hands.

Luca chuckled at the sight, while the pack looked on curiously.

“It’s like they are trying to get a grumpy cat that’s stuck in the tree”, Peter snarked.

“Oh how ironic that is”, Luca chuckled.

“Why’s that?”

“Because the children are werecats, so instead of the human trying to get the cat out of the tree, it’s the cats trying to get the human out…You know, if you really want Stiles to do something, you get the cat children to coax him. That’s usually how the Family gets him to eat or something. It’s like his one weakness, he can’t say no to children.”

“But I thought he hates everyone?” Scott asked, looking confused.

“He’s different around children”, the young vampire started explaining. “He says they’re still young and still innocent, so he feels that they don’t need to see his ‘hatred for the world’. Once they start growing up though, that innocence starts to fade, and Stiles finds himself not caring as much of how he presents himself around them…In my opinion, that’s complete BS. I think he just has a soft spot for children that he doesn’t want everyone to know about.”

The pack and Luca sat in silence for a while as they watched the cat children interact with Stiles.

 

“Come on Uncle Sty, could you please come down?” one of the children asked.

Stiles simply shook his head, looking very much like a grumpy cat indeed.

“Please,” a little girl said, holding up the plate in her hands for the teen to see. “Our mom made you her famous chicken pot pie.”

“Not hungry”, Stiles grumbled. His heart didn’t skip a beat, but the sudden growling of his stomach gave away his lie.

The children gave him an unamused stare, before widening their eyes in the kitten equivalent of the puppy dog look.

Stiles’ eyes widen in turn.

“Oh no, don’t give me those Puss in Boots eyes. Anything but that. You know I can’t say no to them.”

The pack saw something in Stiles change in that moment, he no longer had that annoyed or bored expression. He didn’t even look mad or grumpy anymore. In fact, he seemed amused. A small smile was creeping up on his face and it wasn’t like the others the pack had seen so far. It wasn’t taunting or on the borderline of hysterical. It wasn’t threatening or cold.

It was warm and kind. And it looked nice on his face.

The pack decided this was the only smile they would ever want to see on him.

“We also have curly fries, ‘Tiles”, a little boy said. Stiles’ smile grew slightly bigger.

“Oh you little kitties know my biggest weakness,” the teen sweetly chuckled. “I suppose I’ll come down for a while.”

All the children cheered as Stiles climbed down the tree half way before simply jumping off, landing in a pile of leaves. He had just dusted himself off and picked a few leaves from his hair when he was tackled to the ground by at least five kids.

Stiles laughed and giggled as the cat children piled on top of him. He gently pushed them off before engaging in a tickle fight, which somehow escalated to him giving the kids piggyback rides.

The pack wasn’t the only group who watched as their antics continued. All the people by the campfire mused and chuckled as they saw Stiles and the children play. Some commenting on how Stiles would be a great leader if he wanted to be. Some saying he would make an excellent druid. Others saying the teen could be a great anything –vampire, werecat, werewolf, spark, etc. – though they did love him as a human as well. It was just that they wished he wasn’t so antisocial.

**_“He who could be anything, yet chooses to be nothing.”_ **

The witch’s words came back to the pack’s minds.

“Is this what Iris meant?” Lydia asked Luca after telling him what the young witch had told them earlier.

“More or less”, Luca answered with a nod. “He chooses to stay on the sidelines most of the time instead of joining in. He’s in a position where he has many options, but he’d rather stay where he is. Many people consider him an inbetweener, someone who considers all sides equal and doesn’t lean towards one side more than another. A referee of sorts for the supernatural. He helps with solving problems, but he himself doesn’t really participate in the game.”

“So like Deaton? Wouldn’t that make him an emissary?” Scott asked.

“Deaton is bad example of what an emissary is supposed to be”, Peter huffed.

“I agree with you there Mr. Hale,” Luca sighed. “I don’t how Deaton is in your world but here, he quite frankly doesn’t do shit. He’s hella cryptic and will only slightly help if you seek him out and basically beg him. Even then, he’s not much help…Yes, Stiles does act as a representative during certain times, but that doesn’t fully make him an emissary. At least not ours. An emissary is supposed to bind themselves to one group –I’ll use the term ‘pack’ in later references so you understand the connection better- and stick with them till the end. Stiles does what he pleases, he’s not tied down to anyone. Sometimes he takes off out of town with Cara and no one hears from him for a week or two. He only helps when he feels like it, and most times only if he’s paid.”

“What do you mean by not yours?” Derek grumbled.

“You’ll probably find out soon if you’re still here in a few days”, Luca shrugged. “Now, if you could please excuse me, I have to check in on Thing 1 and Thing 2. It’s gotten a tad quiet, and the children and Stiles are nowhere in sight, so they’re probably inside with Cara. And where there’s Cara and Stiles, there’s usually trouble. So it’s best if I check on those two.”

The pack looked at their surroundings and noticed that Stiles and the children had indeed disappeared. Having nothing better to do and having no one else who was willing to talk to them, they followed Luca as the vampire made his way to the main house.

Derek and Peter gave a small whimper as they took in the interior of the house. It was beautiful, with so much space that reminded them of the old Hale house. It was a painful reminder of what they had lost, but at the same time, they couldn’t look away. The whole place was mesmerizing and smelled of family and happiness. Family portraits of all shapes and sizes lined the walls, each with a different group of people in them. Some of were of people who the pack hadn’t even seen upon their arrival. It made them wonder just how big this Family really was.

Giggling could be heard echoing throughout the halls and filled the entire house with life. It snapped the pack out of their trance as they ended up following Luca to what seemed to be the kitchen. As they reached the doorway, they realized the giggling and laughing was coming from inside the unbelievably huge kitchen with two ovens and stoves. It looked like it was meant to have at least enough cooking room for around five people, more if they were people who could work in tight spaces.

Unfortunately, the people who were currently occupying the kitchen, were the messy kind. Bowls and utensils of different sizes were left out in many places, most of them dirty and covered in a brown gooey substance. There was flour everywhere. Egg shells were scattered around all the surfaces, chocolate chips sprinkled here and there. Scott nearly slipped on a chunk of butter as soon as he passed through the doorframe.

They found Stiles sitting on the island counter with his back turned towards them, his hair was a dusty white but lay flat on his skull at the same time, coated in some areas by brown goo. Leaving everyone to guess why. Cara, covered in egg yolk, seemed to be transferring something chocolatey from a bowl into a baking pan, at least ten messy children surrounding her and begging to lick the bowl clean. No one really paid any attention to the new arrivals until Luca spoke up.

“Sty, how many times do I have to tell you to not sit on the counter? It’s unsanitary.”

“Oh come on, Lu-Lu. My butt germs won’t do you any harm with your vampy immune system and all”, Stiles teased. Turning around to reveal his face covered in chocolate, a wooden spoon in hand.

Scott and the others couldn’t contain the giggle that came from looking at the sight before them. Lydia was the only one who wasn’t, but that was because she was on the verge of a panic attack from looking at the huge mess.

“We’re making brownies, Uncle Luca!” the children exclaimed proudly, finally acknowledging their presence. Some of them running to hug Luca, covering him in sticky yolk and other substances. The vampire just accepted the hug and smiled, acting like this happened quite often.

“That’s very nice, kittens” he sweetly chuckled. “Just make sure you guys and your lazy Aunty and Uncle over there leave this place sparkling clean.”

“Hey! I’ll have you know that we’re excellent at cleaning up our messes”, Stiles answered. Looking only at Luca, and making it known that he was purposely ignoring the pack’s existence.

“I strongly agree,” Cara stated with an innocent smile, turning towards Stiles with a now nearly emptied bowl in her hands. Without warning, she flipped it and dumped it on top of his head. With the leftover brownie mix oozing down Stiles’ face, Cara decided it was a good idea to lick some off his cheek. “See.”

The pack expected Stiles to get angry or do something violent, but instead he simply took the bowl off and started licking it clean. Judging by how he had looked when they walked into the kitchen, this wasn’t the first bowl that had ended up on his head.

While they waited for all the brownies to be done, which turned out to be about twelve batches, the pack somehow got sucked in into helping clean up. The children were sent off to take baths, and Cara and Stiles took that opportunity to pull out a batch of brownies that looked slightly different from the others due to a thin red sugar glaze that coated them. They grinned to each other before hastily digging into the brownie pan without offering any to the pack or Luca. The brownies seemed a little off to the pack, but they couldn’t place exactly what it was.

“Oi Thing 1 and Thing 2, those brownies better not have drugs mixed in them. Wouldn’t want the children to learn from your bad influence,” Luca sighed.

Cara and Stiles just shrugged before popping another brownie into their mouth without a care.

“They’re called ‘special’ brownies, Lu-Lu”, Stiles said, doing air quotes. “And relax, the children won’t even have a chance to get near them at the rate we’re eating them. You should count yourself lucky we didn’t decide to do the roulette brownies instead. It would have been a guessing game of which brownie was ‘special’.”

“Oooh, we should do that next time,” Cara mumbled with brownie in her mouth, the effects of the brownies starting to take effect.

Luca just shook his head, and turned to go distribute the normal brownies to members of the Family.

“Sometimes, I don’t know what to do with you two.”

Stiles and Cara continued eating, not paying attention to the pack that was awkwardly left in the kitchen with the pair when Luca went outside. The awkwardness was getting unbearable for them and it seemed like time had slowed down. They would have tried to strike up a conversation, but slightly feared angering one of the two. Most likely Cara because she looked like the most impulsive one who would attack without any given notice while Stiles would simply ignore their entire existence.

Luckily for the pack, Luca eventually came back and Thing 1 and 2 disappeared upstairs for a quick ‘shower’. In the meantime, Scott and the others continued talking to Luca about random things. Though at some point, he grew tired of answering questions for the day and they settled for heading to the living room to watch some TV.

When they got there, they found Stiles and Cara fast asleep on a black futon, a pile of cat children curled up on top of them.

Lydia was the first to say how adorable and harmless they looked in this state. Getting out her phone out in a flash to take some quick pictures. She wasn’t the only one, Luca also had his phone out. No doubt getting any blackmailing evidence he could on the pair of sleeping teens.

It wasn’t until many of the Family members started entering the house and heading to their rooms, and the cat children’s mother had come to take them to bed, that Scott and the others realized how late it was. Not only that, but the memory of all the events of the day came crashing down on them as well. Like the fact that they were in an alternative universe where they had no one but themselves. Sure they could stay at one of this world’s version of them’s homes, but it just didn’t feel right since they weren’t really their own homes.

Derek and Peter didn’t even exist in this world anymore, so when they had woken up here, they had found themselves in a completely renovated loft that smelled of old lady perfume and cats. It looked like the owner hadn’t been there in a few days, so they could stay there for a while if they wanted. But what if the owner suddenly showed up, then what. They were mentally contemplating asking Stiles if they could stay at his house, but then thought it might be best to take their chances sleeping in the woods on a pile of leaves.

Scott and Lydia did have their other versions’ homes to sleep in, but both felt like they were intruding in someone else’s life. Plus, Scott was trying to not think of it, but he hated how when he had woken up in the morning, his mom’s scent was very faint. He hadn’t thought much about it at the moment, but now he wanted to forget he even noticed in the first place, it would be easier to cope that way.

Luca saw how sad and miserable they all looked, so being the nice guy that he was, he offered to house them for as long as they were stuck in this world.

Scott and the others showed their gratitude and were already about to follow Luca towards the guest rooms, when Stiles got off the couch and announced he was leaving.

The pack’s mood grew sadder as soon as he did because they had kind of hoped he would have stayed with them at least for their first night in this strange world. But at the same time, they understood that this world was this Stiles’ home and that going to his house in the middle of the night might be normal to him. Besides, he wasn’t exactly pack so he had no obligation to stay.

The shattering of the pack bonds with their own Stiles was still fresh in their minds, and being around a lookalike serving as a constant reminder didn’t help with the healing. But they couldn’t help wanting to be around him. Not when subconsciously some part of them still thought of the teen as pack.

“Why don’t you stay for the night, Sty?” Luca asked, interrupting their thoughts.

Stiles shrugged.

“I have a house, Luca. I don’t need to stay. Besides, my cat is probably waiting for me.”

“If that’s the best you got, you better brush up on your excuses,” Luca said, looking unimpressed. “We both know Figaro kind of hates your guts, and you really only keep him around so you can escape your house arrest.”

“…Fine, I’ll stay. But I’m going to leave in the morning to check on that darn cat. Hopefully, he doesn’t destroy anything while I’m gone”, Stiles sighed as he turned to go outside. “I’ll meet you outside. Tell Cara if you see her.”

With that, the human was gone.

“Where’s he going?” Scott asked in confusion. “I thought he was going to stay.”

“He is, but he likes to sleep outside. Reminds him of camping. Let me show you your rooms so I can go find Cara, though she probably knows already. She likes to sleep out there even when Stiles is not around.”

Luca started walking up the stairs, but stopped in his tracks when he noticed the others weren’t following him. He turned around to ask the pack what was wrong, and saw them sheepishly staring at their shoes. They didn’t know how to say that they would feel a little more comfortable being around someone they were more familiar with.

“Do you think we could sleep outside with you guys too?” Scott sheepishly asked, still looking at the ground.

“If there’s enough room for us, that is”, Lydia was quick to add. She didn’t want to intrude on Luca and Stiles’ sleeping quarters.

“There’s plenty of room. That’s not a problem”, Luca answered as they walked outside. “…But, how do you guys feel about heights?”

The pack raised their eyebrows in confusion, but before anyone could ask what the vampire meant by his question, they found Stiles and Cara leaning against a huge tree. The surrounding area having many trees clustered close to one another, making the pack question where exactly they had planned to set up their sleeping bags or whatever they would be sleeping on. The fact that no one was carrying any sleeping supplies confused them even more.

“What are they doing here?” Cara hissed. “Don’t tell me they’ll be joining us.”

“Fine, then I won’t tell you”, Luca said with a smile as he walked towards the pair, gaining a glare from the girl vampire. Stiles chose to ignore everyone and turned his back to them.

The human started climbing the tree, using some wooden blocks, the pack were surprised they hadn’t noticed, that were nailed into the trunk. He quickly disappeared between the tree branches, and Cara shortly followed up after him.

“Where are we sleeping exactly?” Derek asked.

“You’ll see”, Luca grinned. “Come on, follow me.”

Mostly to satisfy their curiosity, the pack followed up the tree (Lydia having to extra careful with her heels). Once they climbed all the wooden blocks, they came to a sight they had not expected to see.

They had come to the conclusion that there must have been a treehouse of some sort, but that wasn’t exactly what they found. Right next to their tree was a large net that stretched and connected to all the trees in the cluster they had seen from the ground. It resembled one of those trapeze nets that were used in circuses. The material it was made from looked sturdy, but the pack was very hesitant to go on it, until they saw three familiar figures jumping up and down on it.

The trio seemed to be having fun on the giant net, and that gave the pack enough confidence to step on to it.

“Don’t worry, the net won’t rip”, Luca said making his way towards them. “Trust me, we’ve tested its strength. At one point, we had at least fifth-teen people up here. And I’m almost certain it could even hold an elephant”

Stiles and Cara started giggling after listening in on what Luca was saying, and Cara began to sing, which caught everyone off guard.

**“One elephant went out to play**

**Upon a Spiders web one day**

**She had such enormous fun**

**That she called for another elephant to come…”**

Stiles was quick to join her, surprising the pack by how cheerful he was around the vampire.

**“Two elephants went out to play**

**Upon a Spiders web one day**

**They had such enormous fun**

**That they called for another elephant to come…”**

They kept on continuing the song with Luca joining at some point, ignoring the pack for the most part.

“Let’s just hope that the _spider web_ doesn’t give way”, Peter grumbled, not wanting to give away his slight fear of heights.

“Don’t worry, Furball. I’m sure you’ll land on your feet if it does,” Stiles responded, letting himself drop on to the middle of the net. There was a blanket and pillow next to him that the pack mentally questioned where they had come from.

“That’s cats, Stilinski”, Peter snarked. A smile on his face, secretly happy for getting the teen to acknowledge his presence.

“Well, then it’s a good thing you have a great healing factor, wolf.”

Peter would have loved to continue their banter, he knew this was probably the most he would get out of Stiles for now, so he stayed quiet. And for now, this interaction was good enough for the older wolf. What made it better was that he could smell the slight jealousy coming from his pack members, and that pleased him even more. Maybe with time, the teen would warm up to them.

“There are bags hooked to nails on each of the trees”, Luca informed, gesturing to a red nylon bag in front of him. “Inside each is a blanket and a pillow. There might even be some snacks such as chips and cookies in them if no one has gotten to them yet. We keep them up here to avoid having to carry stuff up every time we come here.”

Scott and the others nodded in understanding and went towards their own nylon bag, thinking of how smart of an idea it was. They asked who had come up with the idea, and were shocked to learn it was Stiles.

“Yeah well what can I say, I’m a lazy fuck. I’ll try to find the easy way for anything I can”, Stiles said with a shrug.

They all laid down on their backs, and the pack was in complete awe of the sight above them. From where they lay, they could see the beautiful night sky. All dark purple and full of glowing stars. If it wasn’t for the fact that they were very tried, they wouldn’t have minded glazing at the stars for hours.

Scott and the pack had instantly lay close to each other, while Cara and Stiles lay somewhere a little far from them, much to their dismay. Luca was in between the two groups, as if serving as a dividing wall.

They were all settled in when Stiles spoke again.

“Hey look, a shooting star!” he shouted. “Maybe you wolves should make a wish…Make it a good one this time. You already found out that you should be careful of what you wish for.”

The pack winced at his comment, and though they didn’t really believe anything would happen, they each made wishes in their heads. Hoping things would get better soon.

It was with that hopeful thought that the pack slowly found their way to sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be about the pack trying to get used to this alternative world and having to deal with a really mad Stiles. None of them know why he is mad, but Luca warns them to leave him alone to cool off.  
> Depending on how I chose to write it (because I have many things that I want to happen and if it gets too long, I'll cut it somewhere and make the second half another chapter), Stiles might be furious enough to punch Scott (it could really be anyone, but Scott is more likely to try to approach him)
> 
> *to clarify some things from CH. 1 that might seem confusing:  
> -Stiles never met the pack in this world, even though they shared some classes together. They ran in different circles and never had a reason to interact. This Stiles doesn’t really pay attention in class, so he doesn’t really know many of the faces or names of people.  
> -Deaton said that Stiles doesn’t let people into his heart and hardly talks to people. As you can see in this chapter, Stiles does talk to some people. The reason for the contradicting facts is that Deaton, spending most of his time with the McCall/ Hale pack, doesn’t know Stiles that well. But he does know that most times Stiles does talk to someone, it’s most likely to get them to go away or to get info (Luca, Cara, and the cat children are exceptions). Stiles hardly puts himself (effort, excitement, basically anything that makes a person interesting talking to) in conversations.  
> -Stiles will only start pushing people away if they keep trying to force themselves into his life. If they leave him alone and respect his privacy, he’s more likely to hang out near them.  
> -While Cara can easily be pissed off by anything someone says, Stiles leans more towards ignoring them (unless they’re like Officer Pacey, and say something about his loved ones). It’s not until they get in personal space that he starts acting up (such as when Derek grabbed him and pinned him to a wall, causing him to bring out his knife).  
> -Stiles made a comment about werewolves being able to tell when someone is lying. At the vet’s, Stiles had been answering their questions with the truth, but he lies to the cat children saying he’s not hungry and his heartbeat stayed steady. If he really feels like it, he could lie about anything and no one would know otherwise (except Luca and Cara, for reasons)  
> -Basically Stiles is a character with many contradicting aspects because he doesn’t know what he wants.


	4. This is not an update -sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is not an update. Sorry about that :(
> 
> It's just me ranting about a post I saw on Tumblr, and some questions for the readers

So sorry that this isn't an update. I'll try to post in like 2-3 weeks the semester is ending soon, so I'll have more time to do stuff.

 

Now, I have some questions for you guys:

- **First, how do you guys feel about spoilers? **

This post is basically me trying to release all the emotions that I'm processing after reading a certain post on Tumblr without spoiling at the same time. I won't post spoilers or give hints here, but my Tumblr is a different story. I have the spoiler post I mentioned on my account **(alis-from-wonderland)** and if anyone wants to see it, look through my "tw s6" and "spoiler" tags (there's only like two things there). Maybe some of you guys have already seen the post or have made a similar/related guess after seeing the promo, but if you haven't and are curious, _**WARNING IT IS A MAJOR SPOILER FOR SEASON 6 OF TEEN WOLF, SO LOOK AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!**   _

On the case of the same spoiler, it might cause me to think up story ideas revolving it. It's not 100% definite of happening, but since the spoiler will be stuck in my head until the season premiere (June I believe), many ideas may come to mind.

If I do end up writing something involving it, would you guys want me to post as soon as I finish it/them or should I post once the season starts and the "thing" happens (if it happens) so you guys have something to read while waiting for the rest of the season's events to unfold?

- **Second, how do you guys feel about me talking about my interests on the notes?**

I'm talking about the latest obsessions in my life.( Songs, shows, anime, manga, etc.) I like to share anything new that I like to my friends, but I don't want to feel like I'm shoving something you don't want in your face. I might still say how something influenced a certain story, but won't say much on it.

 

- **I'm thinking of posting my stuff on Wattpad as well, would you guys like that?**

 

 

That's all for now, thank you for your time. Once again, I apologize that this is not an update.

 

 


	5. *Annoncement/Apology*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is not chapter, and I truly apologize, but I won't be able to update my stories for a while :(

Okay so first of all, I am very sorry that I didn't update in May as I had wanted, but life happened and I couldn't...and still can't.

One of the main reasons for this is that since I got on summer break, my life has gotten busy. I'm searching for work also (which has so far been going not so good), and the only times I get on my laptop is when I'm applying somewhere or taking a short break to read a short fic. (Plus, my family wants me to use technology a little less right now, so I hardly get a chance to be on my laptop. Sorry for not answering any of your guys' comments since my last update)

Another reason is that I got a kitten (BTW he's so cute! ^_^). He was doing good at first, but we've had to take him to the vet twice already in the short time we've had him, and as a huge animal lover it pains me to see him sick so I'm trying to nurse him back to health.

 

I'm hoping by late July or possibly August I'll be back to posting stuff. Currently, I'm going to try to write the next two chapters of this story as well as possibly writing a few other short fics as a peace offering for being MIA longer than before. I'll be writing them in good old paper and pencil, so it'll take me a bit to type them up once I'm done and get a chance to.

 

I just want to say that I'm not abandoning my stories and that I hope you'll still be around whenever I can update.

PS. Hope you guys are having a nice summer, and don't forget to stay hydrated (it's around 115 degrees where I live. My state is synonymous with Hell.)

 

*this will be deleted once I update*

 

 


	6. Second Hand Smoke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So so so sorry I didn't post when I said I would. I feel horrible about it, and even more so because I didn't get to write other stuff to make up for lacking of posting. I hope you guys can forgive me.  
> Anyways, this chapter and next one were supposed to be one but I decided  
> to split it because of length and the fact that I wanted to post something asap.  
> The name of this chapter (as well as ones before it) comes from song lyrics. As you guys  
> probably noticed from certain things, I listen to FOB a lot. This chapter’s name is from their  
> song, Irresistible.  
> “You're second hand smoke, second hand smoke  
> I breathe you in, but, honey, I don't know what you're doing to me Mon Cherie, but the truth catches up to us eventually”  
> PS: Don’t be afraid to correct me on any errors I make, I know I make them and I want to  
> improve my writing, so please tell me. ☺*

When Scott and the others woke up, they were well rested. They hadn’t felt this way in a long  
time, and it was a welcomed change. For once, they felt closer to each other as friends or family  
rather than just random strangers who had the unfortunate luck of getting dragged into the  
supernatural mess of Beacon Hills. Was this how it truly felt to be part of a pack?

  
At first, they were in a bit of a panic when they woke up to find themselves suspended far up  
from the ground. It took the pack a few seconds to remember the events from last night, and  
calm down. A soft whimper erupted from the wolves when they all noticed they were still stuck in  
another world. They had hoped they would have woken up back in their world, but not even the  
hopeful wishing upon stars made that possible.

  
After finding their bearings, the pack realized they were alone up on the trapeze net. Stiles,  
Cara, and even Luca were gone. And judging by the scents, the wolves could tell they had been  
gone for a few hours now.

  
Scott found it a bit rude that no one had bothered to wake them up, or at least tell the pack they  
were leaving. It made sensed for Cara and this Stiles, those two didn’t like the pack very much,  
so they wouldn’t feel the need to inform them of anything. And it hurt that Stiles would be like  
this, but Scott had to remind himself that this wasn’t his Stiles. Luca, however, Scott had  
believed to be different. Out of all the people the pack had encountered in this world, Scott had  
thought Luca was the most considerate.

  
The young Alpha made a point to voice his thoughts out loud, but was quickly interrupted by  
Lydia and Peter.

  
“They’re vampires, Scott”, the banshee and the older wolf practically blurted out at the same  
time, giving their Alpha a disappointed look. When Scott gave them a confused look in return  
that silently asked 'why were they telling him information he already knew', Lydia gave a sigh.

  
“You know, the ones who burn in sunlight.”

  
Oh.

  
Well now Scott felt a little embarrassed for not thinking of that. His reddened cheeks said so,  
before quickly trying to change the subject.

  
The pack did end up finding a small sticky note on one of the nylon bags on the trees, saying  
Luca was at the Family house if they needed him. Though it also stated that they were free to  
go explore around town, Scott and the others decided to head over to the large house instead of  
facing the possibility of learning more unwanted facts about this world.

  
As they walked to the main Family house, they noted that it looked very beautiful on the outside  
now that it was daytime. The plot of land was very large and there was enough space for a well  
sized playground to be placed to the side of the house. There were a bunch of swing sets and  
hammocks attached to trees, a lovely cobblestone path that lead to the front of the house. And  
the smell of breakfast was in the air and the laughter of children could be heard. Overall, it was  
very homey.

  
“Damn, they sure put the Hales to shame”, Peter awkwardly chuckled, trying to get rid of some  
the sadness he was feeling at that moment. Knowing that Derek was also deep in nostalgia.

  
“Yeah” is all the other Hale wolf sadly whispered before walking up to the porch to knock on the  
door.

  
They had hoped and expected Stiles to be the one to open the door due to all the noise and  
children’s voices, but it wasn’t so.

  
Instead, a few seconds later it was opened by an apron wearing Luca, having a five year old girl  
on his shoulders, a little boy griping on to his back, holding another one under his left arm, and a  
clinging little girl on his leg. What the pack had first perceived as some sort of weird hat Luca  
was sporting on his head, was in fact, a small curled up kitten. It had the same ginger colored  
fur as all the children’s hair. And knowing that apparently werecats were a thing, the pack was  
quick to suspect the kitten to be one, as well as being the children’s sibling.

  
The young vampire gave them a proud smile and somehow managed to move to the side to let  
the pack in.

  
“It is at times like this that I’m glad I have my super strength,” Luca chuckled as he slowly  
walked towards the kitchen. “Or I would have probably broken my back some time ago.”

  
“Stop!!! Don’t get near the sunlight?!?!” Scott panicked, trying to figure out how to block sunlight  
from coming through the open door, before he realized all the house windows were all open.  
“How are you not burning?!?!” he shouted, but he only got confused stares from the vampire  
and the children, all of whom had taken a step back.

  
“…Um, are you okay dude?” Luca asked worriedly. “You’re not having a psychiatric breakdown  
on me, are you? Oh man, don’t tell me world jumping got to you! I’m like the worst person to talk  
to about things, I will legit get nervous and start making stuff up! ...Sorry, shutting up now.”

  
“You talk a lot,” Derek grumbled, secretly wishing a certain other talkative teen was in front of  
them.

  
“Yeah well, it has always been one of my forms of defense”, Luca sheepishly answered, running  
a hand through his hair. “That combined with Stiles’s sarcasm has gotten us into plenty of  
trouble. Haha.”

  
“Not that I don’t enjoy listening to your verbal vomit,” Peter interrupted, looking amused. “But I  
am quite curious on the subject as well as our dear Scotty is over here. How exactly is it that  
you don’t burn when in contact with the sun? Is that just a lie going around the supernatural  
community passed by vampires?”

  
Luca just stared at him for a moment, before his face suddenly lit up as if a lightbulb dinged onto  
of his head.

  
“Oh…oh…sorry, it’s been a while that I’ve had to deal with that so I kinda…forgot,” he finally  
answered, and then pointed at the ring on his left hand. “Iris made this for me a few years ago.

  
It’s magic, so sunlight doesn’t affect me. I can act like a normal person…well, as normal as I can  
be.”

  
“Do all the vampires in town have them?”

  
“All the ones in the Family for sure. The rogues that attacked last night didn’t, but others may  
have them. All that is really needed is a strong enough witch to make them…Listen, I would go  
into greater detail of things or at least tell you what I know, but I have a lot of things to do today,  
so I have to get ready. Sorry.”

  
Accepting his answer, the pack nodded and took a look around the house.

  
“Where is everyone else?” Lydia asked, smiling at the cat children, who were still clinging on to  
the young vampire.

  
“Most of the adults are at work, Stiles and the older kids are at school, and Cara is who knows  
where so watch out if she appears out of nowhere. Some had other stuff such as grocery  
shopping to do, which takes a lot of people because the amount of food and supplies we need  
to feed this large family is ridiculous. Everyone else is just spending some time in town for the  
day or still sleeping in their rooms, we have a handful of nocturnal people around here.”

  
“So you got stuck babysitting the little kiddies, huh?” Peter mused.

  
Luca smiled. “I don’t mind. Actually, I offered to do so. Mrs. C is a very busy woman, so I  
volunteered to drop off the kittens at kindergarten for today.”

  
“Yeah, Lu is like our second mom! He takes really good care of us!” the little girl on his  
shoulders happily exclaimed.

  
“Tiles too!” the boy on Luca’s back added, before looking at the ground with a pouty face.  
“Though, he hardly comes around to play with us.”

  
“Oh come on kittens, you know Uncle Sty has a lot of stuff to do and he visits any time he gets a  
chance”, Luca tried to reason.

  
“We know”, one of the cat children sighed, and her siblings nodded with her. “It’s just that we  
miss him all the time. We wish he could live here with us so we could see him more.”

  
“We’ll see with time if he changes his mind about moving here, okay?” Luca answered sweetly.

  
“For now, let’s worry about getting you guys to school on time. Go on, get changed, grab your  
backpacks, and let’s go.”

  
The children whined, but did as they were told anyway. Running off to get their stuff, and leaving  
Luca alone to talk to the pack for a few minutes. Even the little kitten that was on the vampire’s  
head jumped off and raced after his siblings, changing into his small chubby human form and  
practically flashing the pack with his pale buttocks.

  
“Well, I have to take them to school right now, so I won’t be back until a half an hour or so. You  
guys can go around town for a while if you want”, Luca said as he reached into his pants’ back  
pocket to get out his wallet, pulling out two crisp hundred dollar bills and offering them to the  
pack. “Here, use it to get food or whatever you’d like.”

  
The pack stared at the money in confusion.

  
“Why would you give us two hundred dollars?” Lydia questioned.

  
“Um, do you need more?” Luca sheepishly asked in turn, already reaching into his wallet.

  
“No, no, no!” Scott shouted, rapidly waving away the money. His cheeks flushed bright red in  
embarrassment when he saw Luca slightly jump in shock from the young Alpha’s reaction.

  
“Sorry, I overreacted…It’s just that I don’t understand why you would give us money.”

  
“Well, I know you guys probably didn’t have any money on you when you came to this world, so  
I thought that must suck and decided to give you some, even if it is a little.”

  
Scott looked at the vampire before him as if he didn’t understand him, which truth be told, he  
didn’t. Why would someone give away money as if it was nothing?

  
“Look, just take the money. I don’t want to sound offensive, but you need it more than we do.  
Our family is really well off, so a few hundred won’t be missed…That being said though, don’t  
take advantage of our hospitality. We don’t like moochers; everyone here pulls their weight. And  
if you guys end up stranded here for weeks, you’ll have to do the same.”

  
“Um, that won’t be a problem”, Scott was quick to say. “We’ll gladly help anyway we can as  
thanks for your hospitality.”

  
Luca simply nodded as the cat children came running down the stairs, receiving a small lunch  
box from Luca as they came into the kitchen. The pack noticed that all the little lunch boxes  
were personalized for each child.

  
There was a Batman one for one of the little boys, a Kermit the Frog one for another little boy, a  
Frozen lunch box for the smallest girl, an Avengers one for the other little girl, and one covered  
with kittens for the youngest boy.

  
The pack had no doubt that the lunches inside each box were personalized as well.

  
“Uncle Lu, I don’t know if I want to take my kitty lunch box to school,” the smallest cat child said  
with a frown, looking at his box with sadness. “What if the other kids laugh at me?”

  
“Oh Tom-Tom, what makes you say that?” Luca asked with such gentleness, it could be easily  
believed that he was an experienced parent even though he looked like a teenager. He had  
such patience, sitting on one knee so he could be at the little boy’s eye level as he rested a  
hand on the child’s shoulder. “I’m sure everyone will love it. Who doesn’t like kittens.”

  
“But what if they think it is too girly for a boy?”

  
Luca’s smile didn’t falter any, he simply remained calm and reassured the child.

  
“You are free to like anything you want, Tom-Tom. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

  
“Yeah, and if they do say anything, I’ll beat them up”, the little girl with the Avengers lunch box  
declared, crossing her arms to make herself look tough.

  
“Kati, we do not resort to violence as a means to solve anything”, Luca lectured as he grabbed a  
pair of car keys from a tray and started leading everyone out the house door.

  
“But Uncle Stiles says-”

  
“Kati sweetie, I know what Uncle Stiles says, but violence is not the answer. Besides, he is just  
joking around when he says that.”

  
Scott and the others didn’t need to have super hearing to tell that it was a lie by the way Luca  
was saying it, but the children didn’t need to know that.

  
“Okay, enough of this lollygagging, kitties. It’s time to head to school”, Luca continued as he  
gently pushed everyone out the door and lead them to one of the garages next to the large  
house. Once inside there, he went towards a small silver van and opened the side door so all  
the kids could get in.

  
“Behold, the legendary Silver Bullet. It may look like your average soccer mom vehicle, and that  
is because it is, but it’s kind of my baby. I drive some of the Family to events in it all the time,  
and it never has let me down”, Luca said proudly as he buckled the kids in and made his way to  
the driver’s side of the van, the pack following close behind.

  
“Anyway, I have to go now, but you guys can do whatever you want in the meantime. I’m sorry  
can’t let you stay at the house while I’m away, but there’s trust and then there’s stupidity”, the  
vampire sheepishly explained. “The Family won’t approve of letting any non-Family members  
stay around while some members are sleeping, and thus in a vulnerable state. It’s not that we  
think you are bad people, it’s just that trust is a big thing for us, and it takes some time to earn it.  
I hope you can understand.”

  
“We do,” Derek nodded. Even though he didn’t remember much about pack dealings from his  
mother’s Alpha days, he knew hospitality could only go so far when two packs were barely in  
their meeting stage. He didn’t know if they would be in this world long enough to have to build a  
treaty of some sort, but he would do anything he could to be on this pack’s good side. They had  
everything he missed from his old pack and more. He couldn’t help but hope Scott and the  
others might learn something from them while they were stuck here.

  
“Okay well, I can’t give you guys a ride because you don’t all fit in here, but I can take one of  
you to get your car so they can come back and get the rest of you.”

  
“No, that’s okay, thanks. We can all walk to our car. It’s not that far from here if I remember  
correctly”, Scott answered. “I just hope there are no more rogue vampires lurking around.”

  
“Oh okay, and don’t worry about any crazy vamps. We had some of our members check around  
the area after what Stiles told us last night, and the coast is clear. You shouldn’t have any  
problems.”

  
With a last wave of goodbye, Luca and the kids drove off towards the school, leaving the pack  
to walk through the woods in search of the road and Lydia’s car.

  
True to Luca’s word, there were no bloodsuckers waiting to attack them. There weren’t even  
any signs of the attack that had happened the night before. No blood. No scent. Nothing that  
really stood out, except for the slight claw marks in trees that could only be seen if they were  
looked at closely, and if the person knew what to look for.

  
Scott and the others had been too preoccupied with other things last night, like running for their  
lives, but now they definitely felt it. As soon as they had covered a descent amount of distance  
from the Family house, it felt as if they had gone through a force field of sorts. It was more like  
feeling the intensity of magic and energy in the air rather than having to force themselves  
through a ring of mountain ash.

  
Luca had mentioned among other things that Iris the witch had cast a protection spell around  
the Family’s territory so intruders couldn’t get through. Though she was very powerful for being  
a young witch, Iris couldn’t cast the spell around the whole East end of the preserve with the  
same amount of quality. That was why the rogue vampires were able to roam around without  
getting repelled off the premises, the spell being weaker the farther it got from the center of the  
Family’s territory. She was still able to sense intruders lurking around and was able to tell Luca  
and a few others to investigate, but it had frustrated her that it took a bit longer to realize the  
intrusion. Iris and Deaton were the only magic users in Beacon though only Iris still fully  
practiced, so they would need to contact help from out of town to strengthen the spell.  
Something that, from what the pack was able to overhear, was already in the process of  
happening.

  
As an extra precaution for having a weakened protection barrier for now, the Family had set up  
different types of traps in the preserve to create obstacles for intruders.

  
Scott and the others had been slightly worried about accidently running into one of the booby  
traps they had seen Stiles use to lead some of the rogues to their demise. There was no way of  
telling where a trap laid even in daylight. It was only because the pack had seen Stiles run his  
hand through tree trunks to follow a trail, and because Luca had drawn them the tree symbol to  
follow back, that Scott and the others knew where to go.

  
The craved symbols were much easier to see now that it was during the daytime, but seeing  
them only made them wonder how the hell Stiles had been able to find his way around during  
the nighttime. He had done it while running quickly in order to survive, and with having to feel  
his way around to make up for his lack of supernatural sight.

  
“I always knew he had the makings of greatness in him”, Peter mused as he ran his hand  
through an arrowhead shaped craving. Seeing that this was the marking they were following,  
the older wolf thought that it was likely to be a compass arrow. Guiding people to the pack  
house, and back out of the preserve. Rather clever, yet confusing due to all the other craved  
symbols scattered about to throw people off. So of course it had to have been Stiles who made  
this system, he was an enigma on his own. No doubt the teen knew the woods like the back of  
his hand.

  
“What are you talking about?” Derek mumbled.

  
“Why Stiles of course, I should have bitten him back in that parking lot when I had a chance. He  
would have made a terrific werewolf.”

  
Scott and the others stopped dead in their tracks and turned to glare at the older Hale in shock.  
The look in Lydia’s eyes told of her dreadful memories of when Peter had bitten her. She would  
never want someone else have to go through that, especially Stiles.

  
“You offered Stiles the Bite?!?!?!” Scott bellowed in anger, but before he could get close to  
Peter, Derek beat him to it and pinned his uncle to the nearest tree, growling as he did so.

  
“What did you do to him!”

  
“Relax my dear nephew,” Peter said with a smirk. “Obviously he said no, much like this world’s  
counterpart, and I, being the good man I am, followed his wishes…though, I always thought he  
would eventually change his mind and come back begging for it…but then again, that would be  
very unStiles like.”

  
“How could you?!?” Scott fumed.

  
“Well my dear boy, I needed a pack at the time. Obviously I had made a mistake biting you that  
night, but Stiles looked very promising,” Peter explained before quickly pushing Derek off of him.  
“But that’s a thing of the past, so let’s forget about it.”

  
The older Hale didn’t even give anyone a chance to say anything else before he started walking  
ahead of the other three pack members, whistling as he did so.

  
They found Lydia’s car eventually, and decided to quickly go to Scott and Lydia’s counterpart’s  
homes for a change of clothing after Lydia wouldn’t stop complaining about walking in her now  
ruined heels.

  
Once she was wearing comfortable shoes, the pack set out to find Stiles. Being sent here  
obviously had something to do with him from what Iris told them, so the quicker they dealt with  
this problem, the sooner they could go back to their world hopefully.

  
After quickly searching the high school and finding out Stiles had ditched, the wolves had to  
resort to their heightened senses for guidance. In the end, they were able to find the teen  
hanging out in an alley, of all places, with four other teenagers. All covered in piercings and  
tattoos much like Stiles, and smoking without a care.

  
Stiles looked so relaxed that the pack worried he might not even be breathing, but the small  
trails of smoke coming out of his mouth said otherwise.

  
Scott and the others couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Were things really bad for him here  
in some way that this was the only way to calm himself down? They had realized this Stiles had  
some issues, but they didn’t think he would resort to drugs and cigarettes. Though the incident  
with the “special” brownies should have foreshadowed this.

  
“Are you smoking?!?!” Scott yelled the obvious in disbelief as they got closer to the group of  
teens in dark hoodies, who didn’t even glance in the pack’s direction.

  
“No puppy, I’m part dragon” Stiles snarked, rolling his eyes as he blew a ring of smoke into  
Scott’s face, making the Alpha’s eyes water. This made a smirk grow on Stiles’s pierced lips,  
one that made the pack a little uneasy.

  
The four teens who were sitting next to Stiles, were now standing, being in a defensive position.  
Stiles didn’t budge at all though, he continued sitting where he was, slouched against a wall.

  
The only thing he did was look up to the pack to glare at them and blow more smoke rings in  
their direction.

  
“Sty, who are these maggots?” a teen with the body fit for a professional wrestler asked,  
standing next to Stiles in a very protective manner, ready to attack if necessary. Though given  
that the teens all smelled human, Scott and the others thought they could easily restrain them if  
they had to.

  
“It’s alright Tony, they’re just some of Luca’s friends. They’re probably here to check up on me  
or something stupid like that,” Stiles relayed, sounding tired. “I’ll probably have to fucking deal  
with them, so I’ll catch up with you guys later, ‘kay?”

  
“Ya sure you wanna be left alone with these peeps?” another one of the smoking teens said,  
glaring at the pack.

  
“I’m sure Bobby, I can take care of myself if things get ‘ruff’. Not that they will, these are Luca’s  
friends we’re talking about, they’re more like annoying little puppies.”

  
“If you say so,” the wrestler-like teen said with a shrug as the rest of the group of four left the  
alley, leaving Stiles face the pack alone.

  
As soon as the mini gang left, the tension in the air seemed to rise. It wasn’t because Stiles  
feared having to face the pack alone or anything like that, he had already done that before, but  
instead, it was because now there were no barriers to cut in between the pack and Stiles.

  
Every encounter before, someone had always been there to keep them from actually having a  
completely private confrontation. Whether it had been Deaton at the clinic, the horrible police  
officer at Stiles’s house, or one of the Family members at the Family house. So far they had  
never been truly alone with this Stiles. The only time they were, was in the forest, and there had  
been tension then. And that was before they were quickly ambushed by rogue vampires.

  
“And this is why I like carrying around some of Iris’s spell bags to hide my scent, then again,  
everyone knows not to go looking for me at times like this. Apparently you didn’t get the memo,”  
Stiles whispered mostly to himself, before almost growling out the next words, “What do you  
fuckers want?”

  
“We wanted to talk to you,” Lydia answered with her head held high, not letting the other teen’s  
attitude deter her from her task.

  
“My, my, well aren’t you a fierce goddess. But here’s the thing Red, I’m not much for talking to  
you guys, so scram.”

  
If it were possible for him to do so, the pack was sure Stiles would have spelled out ‘scam’ in  
smoke like that caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland. He had already blown so many smoke rings,  
that maybe in his mind he had already pictured doing so.

  
“Well tough luck, Stiles. We’re stuck in your world for a reason, and from what we’ve discovered,  
it has something to do with you. The least you can do is listen, so that we can get out of your  
hair faster if you really don’t want us around.”

  
“This is why I admire you so much my dear strawberry blonde goddess,” Stiles mused with a  
small smirk, though he still didn’t seem happy with being near the rest of the pack. “Fine, talk,  
but make it quick.”

  
He stared at them impatiently as he continued to amuse himself with the puffs of smoke coming  
out of his mouth. It was really getting on the pack’s nerves, but Derek and Peter had it the worst,  
the smoke reminding them of what they had lost long ago.

  
“Will you stop that?” Derek growled as he ripped the cigarette out of the teen’s hand, and  
crushing it in his hand.

  
Stiles just frowned before quickly replacing it with an impish grin.

  
“What’s the matter wolfy? Don’t like that my lips are sucking something other than you?” he  
mused as he stood up from where he was. “Don’t worry, that can be fixed.”

  
Before anyone knew what just happened, Stiles had his arms around Derek’s neck and was in  
the process of giving the wolf one of the most intense kisses the pack had ever seen. Derek  
was too stunned by the sudden development that his body failed him, leaving him paralyzed and  
at the mercy of the lustful teen.

  
He never knew that Stiles liked him, let alone swung for the other team. The Hale wolf was  
having a hard time coming into terms with what was happening to him, that it wasn’t until Stiles  
broke the kiss that some of his muscle movements came back to him. Leaving him somewhat  
hating himself for liking what had just transpired.

  
He was quick to pin Stiles to a graffitied wall as soon as his body could move, but then quickly  
realized this version of the teen didn't react the same to his scare tactics. Derek braced himself  
for stabbing pain as he expected Stiles to pull his knife on him, but it didn't happen. Instead, he  
just heard the teen chuckling from where he was still pinned under Derek’s strength.

  
"Well, someone likes to play rough, now don't we?" Stiles chuckled as he blew the wolf a kiss. "I  
can work with that, big guy."

  
Derek was quick to drop him and back away, feeling embarrassed and slightly aroused.  
The rest of the pack just stood there confused, having not expected any of this current  
development.

  
"…putting what just happened behind us…let's get back to why we were here in the first place.  
Stiles, we need to talk", Peter said, looking amused.

  
He always suspected their Stiles had some sort of crush on his nephew, but with all the drama  
going on, he didn't have time to figure out if the feeling was mutual and if there could be  
something more between these two than just their constant bickering.

  
"…yeah, that's right...We need to talk," Scott hesitated to say before regaining whatever mindset  
he had arrived with to talk to Stiles.

  
Stiles instantly lost the little amused expression he had and opted for a frown instead. This  
wasn't going to end well.

  
"You should stop involving yourself in the supernatural", Scott started to say.

  
The rest of the pack as a unit gave themselves a face smack and shook their heads for their  
Alpha’s bad way of starting conversations.

  
This really wasn't going to end well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Question time, do you guys want AU Stiles to be magic, get the Bite, or something? I have  
> other story ideas where he isn’t going to be completely human so it would be alright with me if he stays human in this one, though Idk when I’ll start writing  
> those story ideas.  
> Tell me what you guys think*


End file.
